Serang (ANTARA) - A special task force of the Indonesian Police's Crime Investigation Department (Bareskrim) confiscated 821 kilograms (kg) of crystal methamphetamine during a raid on a warehouse in Taktakan, Serang City, Banten Province, on Friday.
The illicit drugs were smuggled from Iran and two foreigners, identified by their initials as BA from Pakistan and AS from Yaman, were detained, Bareskrim Head Commissioner General Listyo Sigit Prabowo stated during a press conference here on Saturday.
The raid was conducted following a four-month-long investigation on an international narcotic network from the Middle East, he revealed.
The police commenced investigation in December 2019, and it succeeded in January to seize 288 kg of methamphetamine and arrested three suspects.
The police extracted information from the three suspects about the network that was planning to conduct transactions again.
To hoodwink the officers, the drugs were mixed with tamarind and wrapped in various types of packages, such as plastic, duct tape, and food container, and they were covered by tamarind.
BA and AS trafficked drugs in Indonesia for the past two years. The methamphetamine was smuggled from Iran and entered the Banten coast aboard a boat two weeks ago.
"BA and AS entered Jakarta in 2011. They frequently visited Indonesia as spices traders. They often moved to several cities, such as Surabaya and Jakarta, and they usually stayed in rental apartments," he noted.
The two drug traffickers were threatened under Article 132 of Law Number 25 of 2009 on Narcotics, a subsidiary of Article 114 of the Narcotics Law and are liable to face capital punishment or life imprisonment.
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Reporter: Fardah Assegaf
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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