TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Police's (Polri) Directorate for Drug Offences have arrested seven people - all of whom are suspected to have ties with international illicit drug smuggling syndicates - and confiscated at least 40,000 ecstasy pills from the suspects.

"After 25 days of investigation, we have managed to unveil an international ecstasy smuggling ring based in the Netherlands, Malaysia, and within Indonesia - Medan and Jakarta," said the Deputy Chief of the Directorate for Drug Offences, Sr. Comr. Nugroho Aji in Jakarta on Friday, February 19, 2016.

The investigation began on February 2, 2016, when Polri's Criminal Investigation Unit (Bareskrim) officers decided follow a shipment carried by one of the suspects, AZ, from Medan to Jakarta. AZ took a public bus - and simply carried the pills within a rolled up, green curtain in his backpack.

As he arrived in Jakarta on February 3, 2016, AZ handed over the pills to suspect FD, at the Bus Terminus in Cikokol District in Tangerang, Banten. "Both AZ and FD was arrested when the pills - around 40,000 of ecstasy - were being exchanged," said Aji.

On the same day on February 3, suspects JF and BS was arrested in Medan. JF was found to be the supplier in control of the distribution of the illicit drugs, while BS' job was to recruit couriers and control the logistics side of the deal.

As a follow up to both arrests, on February 5, Bareskrim officials arrested suspects HA, MY, and MS. HA was arrested in front of a bank in Tangerang, and was established as a distributor for FD. MY and MS was arrested at a hotel in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta, were later found to also be distributors for FD.

In addition to the ecstasy pills, police also seized 23 grams of methamphetamine and 52 ecstasy pills from HA, MY, and MS.

All suspects are facing a drug smuggling charges - the maximum penalty to which is the death penalty.

ANTARANEWS