JAKARTA: The North Sumatra Police have thwarted an attempt to smuggle 50kg of methamphetamine and 20,000 ecstasy pills from Malaysia into the province.
The drugs were intercepted aboard a vessel off the coast of Bagan Asahan in Asahan regency on March 19, according to the North Sumatra Police’s narcotics director Sr. Comr. Andy Arisandi.
“Police tracked the shipment for two weeks after receiving intelligence about the trafficking operation and intercepted it as it entered North Sumatra waters,” Andy said at a press conference on Wednesday (March 25).
Andy said that during a search of the vessel, officers found 50 red China tea-labelled packages containing methamphetamine, weighing a total of 50kg, along with 20,000 ecstasy pills.
Police also arrested a 38-year-old man, identified only as B, who was operating the vessel. B, a resident of Asahan regency, told investigators he had allegedly been instructed by an individual identified only as F to deliver the drug shipment in exchange for Rp 70 million (US$ 4,143).
Andy said police later searched F’s residence based on the suspect’s statement but did not find him.
“Officers have been deployed to locate and arrest F, and we will continue to dismantle this drug trafficking network and pursue other suspects involved in the syndicate,” Andy said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
