Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Customs and excise officers at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport have foiled another smuggling attempt of 7.2 kilograms of shabu-shabu (crystal methampethamine) from Hong kong into the country.
Officers also arrested two Taiwanese identified as Tseng Huang Lung, 44, and Tseng Wen Ho, 35, along with the evidence allegedly worth Rp 10.8 billion in street market.
Rahmat Subagio, airport customs office chief said the suspects arrived at the airport at about 1:33 pm on Thursday on board Chathay Pacific CX 777.
“Our officers who observed passengers profiles became suspicious when the two suspects, who did not know each other looked so confused and nervous and other officers at the checking point reported that they found strange objects in passengers’s luggages,” he said.
Officers then waited for a few minutes until the two suspects came to claim the two luggages.
“We asked asked them to pen the luggages because it’s unusual if passengers luggages only contained snack boxes entirely,” he said.
“We asked asked them to pen the luggages because it’s unusual if passengers luggages only contained snack boxes entirely,” he said.
Officers then examined six boxes that read Orion Pie boxes in the two luggages and found 26 aluminum foil bags containing shabu-shabu.
Huang Lung, who has visited the country three times said that he was asked by a man called Acing to carry the luggage to Jakarta and He did not know that it contained the drug.
“Acing only told me that someone would pick me up at the airport and take me to a hotel and he promised me 17,000 Liminti after I submit the luggage to someone at the hotel,” he said in Chinese language which was translated to Bahasa Indonesia by a customs officers.
Meanwhile, Wen Ho said that he was asked by a man called Apang to deliver the luggage to someone in Jakarta and was promised 17,000 liminti.
“We will always pay extra surveillance to all passengers arriving high-risk countries for drug smuggling routes such Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Malaysia andgeneral Anwar Fuadi.
He said drug smuggling threats, especially from Hong Kong was very extra ordinary because officers had repeatedly foiled drug smuggling attempts from Hong Kong this year.
“This is the fourth drug smuggling attempt that customs officers have foiled since February,” he said.
On February, 20, officers seized 515 grams of cocaine from an Englishman identified as Michael Anthony Guevara, 34, who flew to Jakarta from Singapore along with his Thai girls identified as Thitirat Charoensul, 24 and Jintana Naksi, 27.
On March 29, officers also confiscated 9.4 kilograms of shabu-shabu and arrested three Malaysian-Chinese citizen identified as Thor Li Hwa, 36, Tan Sew Hua, 42 and Pe Mee Yee, 33 (woman) as suspects along with the drug allegedly worth Rp 15 billions.
On April 11, officers foiled the smuggling attempt of 6.9 kilograms of shabu-shabu from Hong Kong and arrested two Taiwanese identified as Kuo Ting Liu, 23 and Huang Yu Lum, 26 along with the evidence worth Rp 10 billions.
Eko Darmanto, cihef of intelligence at the customs office said, like other shabu-shabu smugglers, Huang Lung and Wen Ho will face the charges of violating the 1997 psychotropic substance law.
The articles carry a maximum punishment of up to 15 years prison term, while the Englishman and his Thai girl friends will face the charges of the 1997 anti-drug law that carries a maximum penalty of death.
Eko said it’s no wonder if the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has always been in the front line for drug smuggling cases because it is the main international gate of the country.
“We will hand down the suspect to the airpor police soon for further investigation along with the National Drugs Body, the Immigration in effort to disclose wider networks of the drug syndicate,” he said.
