JAKARTA (Bernama): Indonesian authorities have seized 8.6 litres of suspected etomidate worth an estimated Rp97.8 billion (RM22.7 million) and arrested four foreign nationals suspected of involvement in an international drug smuggling operation through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport here.
Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police chief Senior Commissioner Wisnu Wardana said the seizures were made in three separate cases uncovered between February and May this year, involving suspects from China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
"The disclosure of these three cases has the potential to save around 55,928 people from narcotics abuse," he said, according to Antara News Agency, on Monday.
Wisnu said the cases underscored what police believe is the continued use of Soekarno-Hatta Airport by transnational syndicates seeking to smuggle etomidate into Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police Narcotics Unit chief Michael Kharisma Tandayu said the largest seizure involved a Thai national, from whom police allegedly recovered about 4.1 litres of suspected etomidate.
In separate cases, he said police also detained a Singaporean and a Malaysian travelling together from Malaysia, as well as a Chinese national who arrived from Thailand.
Police said investigations into the three cases found that the four suspects, believed to have acted as couriers, had allegedly been instructed by three different individuals on Indonesia's wanted list. -- Bernama
