TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - As many as 13 suspects had been arrested in connection with the drug case of Gorilla tobacco, Spokesman of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Sen.Coms Yusri Yunus said here on Sunday.

The suspects, only identified by their initials as RS, MT, FB, PRY, MA, IL, RD, AR, MN, WA, RT, ARN, NH, and RTF, were apprehended in different places around Jakarta and Subaraya, the capital of East Java, during a series of recent drug raid operations, he said.

The police investigators also unveiled a factory producing this synthetic drug, and confiscated more than 28 kilograms of Gorilla tobacco, a type of drug that could make its users act aggressively and suffer lose of consciousness, Yunus said.

The factory was located in an apartment in Surabaya, he said, adding that the police charge the suspects with articles 114, 112, and 132 of the Indonesian Drug Law which could lead them to death penalty, life imprisonment, or 20 years in jail.

As part of the war on drug, the Jakarta Metropolitan Police have been attempting to fight against those using online shopping facilities and social media platforms for drug trafficking.

Indonesia remains under grave threat from drug dealers, as several individuals from its working-age population have been embroiled in a vicious circle.

Both domestic and transnational drug dealers perceive Indonesia as one of their potential markets due to its large population and millions of drug users. The drug trade in the country is estimated to reach nearly Rp66 trillion.

According to the National Narcotics Agency's (BNN's) report, some 50 drug use-related deaths occur in a day in Indonesia. However, their deaths have failed to deter other drug users in the country from consuming these banned substances.

Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other addictive drugs transcend communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

In selling this illicit drug, many drug dealers reportedly recruit teenagers. Denpasar Police Chief Sen. Coms. Ruddi Setiawan, for instance, recently revealed that a drug dealer in the Indonesian resort island recruited four teenagers to work as his couriers.

The suspects were identified by their initials as AB (16), DB (13), GN (14), and SJ (16) while the drug dealer was Dogler. The latter asked them to place the drug packets at certain places, including flowerpots and poles, he said.

ANTARA