BNN Reveals Crystal Meth Smuggling by Malaysia-Aceh Syndicate

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) foiled six cases of crystal meth smuggling in late February. BNN Chief Inspector General Heru Winarko said Aceh was one of the locations to smuggle the illegal drugs.

“We seized the 53.9 kilogram of crystal meth and 70,905 ecstasy pills,” said Heru in a press conference at the BNN office Thursday, March 8.

Heru said the joint team of BNN, National Police, and Malaysian Police (PDRM) managed to confiscate 15.05 kilograms of crystal meth and 70,000 of ecstasy pills in the first case on February 25.

The drugs were seized from the Malaysian-Aceh-Medan narcotics syndicate. “It was smuggled through Penang. There are four suspects and one of them was shot dead because of resisting,” he said.

Read: BNN Malaysian Authorities Foil International Drug Trafficking

In the second case on February 10, BNN and PDRM foiled the smuggling of 20.9 kilograms of crystal meth. Heru said it was packed inside the 20 Chinese tea packs. “It was also entered Indonesia and Penang by sea,” he said.

Furthermore, he went on, BNN foiled a 1.5 kilogram of crystal meth smuggling brought from Aceh to Jakarta via Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport on February 25. BNN arrested four suspects in this case.

Heru said several smugglers use a new method, such as by putting it inside the shoe. “It can be revealed because we have tracker dog and cooperated [with several parties],” he said.

According to Heru, his office is still developing some of the drugs smugglings cases because the receiver of these illegal drugs has yet to be revealed. “It is still being developed, until the ‘end user’,” he said.

Heru said Aceh was one of BNN’s focuses in narcotics emergency in Indonesia despite the possibility of the drugs to travel from the central and eastern ways. “Narcotics emergency is all over Indonesia, not only in Aceh,” said the BNN official.

SYAIFUL HADI