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JAKARTA, Indonesia -- JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities said Monday they arrested 285 radical suspected of cause trafficking, including 29 women and 7 foreigners, and seized implicit fractional a ton of assorted narcotics during a two-monthlong nationwide crackdown.
Indonesia is a large hub for cause trafficking successful Southeast Asia contempt having strict cause laws, with convicted smugglers sometimes executed by firing squad.
The caput of the National Narcotic Agency, Marthinus Hukom, said the crackdown, launched betwixt April and June crossed 20 provinces, besides uncovered wealth laundering schemes by 2 cause syndicates and confiscated assets worthy much than 26 cardinal rupiah (about $1.5 million).
Thirty-six of the suspects, including 21 women, were paraded successful beforehand of reporters, on with confiscated drugs, successful their orangish situation uniforms and hands handcuffed.
Hukom said the women arrested were mostly housewives.
“I telephone connected Indonesian women to beryllium much vigilant successful establishing friendships some successful the existent satellite and successful cyberspace,” helium said during a associated property league with officials from the information affairs ministry and the customs bureau who took portion successful the operation.
One of the agency’s deputies, Budi Wibowo, said authorities seized 683,885 grams (0.68 ton) of crystal meth, marijuana, ecstasy, THC, hashish and amphetamines, adding this helped halt them falling into the hands of “more than 1.3 cardinal people.”
Wibowo besides said that cause syndicates person utilized assorted methods to administer narcotics to users via onshore and oversea proscription oregon message services.
The 7 overseas nationals were an American, 2 Kazakhs, 2 Malaysians, an Indian and an Australian, Wibowo said.
The United Nations Office connected Drugs and Crime says Indonesia is simply a large drug-smuggling hub successful portion due to the fact that planetary cause syndicates people its young population.
In a abstracted operation, authorities successful the state of Riau Island, exposed successful May 2 cases of cause smuggling successful its waters and seized 2.7 tons of crystal methamphetamine and 1.2 tons of ketamine, Hukom said Monday.
In 2023, authorities uncovered much than 52,000 of cause cases and confiscated 6.2 tons of crystal meth, 1.1 tons of marijuana and different types of synthetic narcotics, said Mochammad Hasan of the ministry of information affairs during the property conference.
Hasan said the fig accrued successful 2024 with much than 56,000 cases and confiscated 7.5 tons of crystal meth and 3.3 tons of marijuana, with a harvester worth worthy 7.5 trillion rupiah ($454.6 million). Authorities person arrested a full of 27,357 cause suspects by November 2024, helium said.
Early this month, three British nationals accused of smuggling astir a kilogram (over 2 pounds) of cocaine into Indonesia were charged successful a tribunal connected the tourer land of Bali. They look the decease punishment nether the country’s strict cause laws.
About 530 people, including 96 foreigners, are connected decease enactment successful Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections’ information showed. Indonesia’s past executions, of an Indonesian and 3 foreigners, were carried retired successful July 2016.
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