26-7-2023 (JAKARTA) Officials from the Customs and Excise Office and the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police in Tangerang, Banten, have successfully foiled an attempt to smuggle 6.1 kilograms of methamphetamine into Indonesia from the Ivory Coast.
“The joint team has thwarted an attempt to smuggle crystal methamphetamine weighing 6,166 grams or 6.1 kg from the Ivory Coast,” said Soekarno-Hatta Customs head Gatot Sugeng Wibowo on Tuesday.
The drugs were brought into Indonesia in two packages containing spare parts for water pumping machines. The package, addressed to a recipient with the initials SA in Bekasi, was inspected by the joint team, revealing the illicit drugs wrapped in 12 plastic bags hidden inside the spare parts.
“Officers became suspicious about the cavity of two used spare parts (which) were then dismantled and (they) found six packages containing crystalline powder in each spare part,” Wibowo said.
Following the discovery, the officers immediately coordinated with the Soekarno-Hatta Police Narcotics Unit to carry out further investigation into the case.
False concealment in consignments is one of the many methods used to smuggle narcotics into Indonesia, according to Wibowo, who added that it takes the expertise of Customs officers to detect such efforts to smuggle drugs into the country.
Indonesia has strict laws regarding drug trafficking, with the possibility of the death penalty for those found guilty. The country has been grappling with a drug epidemic for years, with methamphetamine being one of the most commonly used drugs.
