Smuggled drugs worth Rp 3.2 billion seized at Soekarno-Hatta airport

Multa Fidrus | Tangerang | 12/03/2012

Customs and excise officers have foiled five smuggling attempts of drugs worth Rp 3.2 billions at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and arrested seven Indonesians as suspects including Raka Widyarma, the foster son Banten deputy governor Rano Karno.

“Officers seized the drugs in five smuggling cases between March 4 and 5,” Oza Olivia, head of Customs office at the airport said in a press confrence at her office on Monday.

She said that on March 4, officers conducting intelligent analyses against delivery packages sent Malaysia through a delivery service company (PJT) confiscated four packages containing 300 Nimetazepam pills worth Rp 45 millions.

“The packages were reported as documents. Officers who later conducted delivery control to the receiver address in Cipete, South Jakarta managed to pick up three suspects identified as Diana S, 24, a company director, PS, a private company employee and A who works as a disc jokey,” she said.

On the same day, officers also seized 5 ecstasy pills worth Rp 2 millions sent from Malaysia to an adress in Bintarto, South Tangerang.

Officers pretending to be PJT courier then conducted delivery control to the adress and found Raka Widyarma, 20, and his friend Karina Andetia, 19 who had been waitring fro the drug on Jl. Perkici Raya, Bintaro..

Officers also seized a packet containing 16 ecstasy pills worth Rp 6.4 million which was reported as document by AS, the sender and arrested MRZ, 27, the receiver of the drug in Manado, North Sulawesi.

Officers also seized another delivery package containing 20 ecstasy pills worth Rp 8 million which was sent by a man identified as D to an adres in Karawaci, Tangerang. The receiver seemed to be aware of the situation so that he left before officers found the adress.

On March 5, officers discovered 628.5 grams cocaine worth Rp 3,142,500,0000 hidden in 178 buttons of woman’s dress which were sent from Gijarat, India through PJT by a man identified as GNK to a reciver with initial DIP in Bali.

“When conducting delivery control to the adress in Bali, officers picked up FI, 30, as suspect. FI who works as a tailor said he was asked by a man called T to take the drug and was promised Rp 1 million.

The ecstasy pills and the suspects were handed down to the airport police for further case develipment while the coanine and the suspect were submitted to the National Narchotic Body.

Dwiyanto Soemirat, BNN spokesman said with the seizure of the drugs, 6,285 people were safe from the danger of drug abuses.

Since January, customs officers have foiled 12 drug smuggling cases and seized 3,315.8 grams crystal methamphetamine, 628.5 grams cocaine, 536 levomertofan pills, 300 happy five pills and 41 ecstasy pills worth Rp 8.3 billions on total..

Officers had also arrested 15 Indonesians, a Malaysian and a Sierra Leonean (African) as suspects in the smuggling cases.

BNN picked up Iranian drug convict from Tangerang prison

Multa Fidrus | The Jakarta Post | Tangerang

The National Narchotics Body (BNN) agents picked up an Iranian drug convict Muhamed Jafad, 32, from the Tangerang Youth Penitenatiary early on Thursday following arrest of another Iranian Hamed Mohamad, 30, in Senayan, South Jakarta.

The arrest was witnessed by Denny Indrayana, deputy minster of Justice and Human Rights who all at once inspected the prison at about 1 .a.m.

Benny Mamoto, BNN’s director for hunting and prosecution said Jafad was picked from his cell to be questioned at BNN office because Hamed was nabbed while talking to him by phone.

He said Hamed was arrested while making drug transaction with an Indonesian identified as Iyus, 35, at a fastfood restaurant in Senayan. Officers seized 3 kilograms crystal methamphetamine from both as evidence.

“In initial questioning, Hamed had testified that it was Jafad who controls the drug transaction from behin the bars and therefore we need to develop the case by examining him for further case development,” he said.

Meanwhile, Denny Indrayana said international drug syndicate had conditioned prisons as the safest place to control drug transactions and distribution in the country and he mentioned Jafad as an example of evidence.

He said that none of inmates is allowed to hold cellular phones while serving punishment in prison but the fact showed that many drug convicts could easily comminicate through cellular phones from behind the bars to control drug transactions.

He believed that Jafad is one of drug convicts who had masterminded drug distribution and transactions activities across the country.

Denny promised to take stern measures against prison officers who are proven to facilitate or help pave the way for inmates to have cellular phones.

He said the ministry had purposely cooperated with BNN in effort to severe the chain of drug link between inmates and outsiders.

However, the BNN agents failed to reach a target when picking up Jafad from the cell as they could only found a CDMA phones with a number of phone cards, not a GSM phone as Jafad used when cominicating with Hamed.

Warden Kunto Wiryanto admitted that inmates could easily hold cellular phones in the prison despite regular raids.

“Inmates could have cellular phone from visitors or with the assistance of prison officers who betrayed the institution,” he said.

He said in a recent raids held in the prison, officers confiscated 24 cellular phones from inmates and it was unclear how they got them.

He defended that the Youth Penitentiary is home to 2096 inmates while the total capacity of the prison is only for 800 inmates. 69 percent of the total nimates are serving jail punishment for drug cases.

“There are only four groups consisting of 21 officers who alternately control the inmates. We have repeatedly requested additonal officers but to no avail,” he said.

Kunto said that Jafad had served 2 years of a 5-year jail punhisment for drug offense in the prion while his wife Sonia is also serving jail setence at the Tangerang Woman Penitentiary.

Smuggled Indian star turtles repatriated to its habitat in India

Multa Fidrus The Jakarta Post Tangerang

The Indonesian government repatriated 19 out of 61 Indian star tortoise (geochelone elegans) smuggled into the country throughSoekarno-Hatta International Airport in November to its original habitat in India on Thursday.

“Those turtles will fly with Malaysian Airline to India this evening. We will see them off along with Customs officers, airport security, officials form the Forestry Ministry and NGS activists,” Musyaffak Fauzi, head of airport quarantine center said at his office.

According to Mustaffak, as many as 61 land turtles were smuggled into the country on Nov. 7 by an unidientified foreigner and were confiscated by customs officers after they were left at terminal II. 47 of the turtles were identified as the Indian star tortoise.

Customs officers then handed down the smuggled turtles to the quarantine center for further handling. Unfortunately, 28 of the protected species died on arrival at the airport due to poor treatment.

“This is the first animal repatriation from Indonesia to other country we ever did as form of international cooperation. We have several times received repatriation of wild animals from other country,” he said.

He said the smuggling of animal from overseas into the country violated the 1992 law on animal, fish and plants quarantine and the 1990 law on biodiversity and ecosystem conservation becuase of it harms Indonesia economically.

“Animal and plants smuggling from overseas will harm Indonesia economically because they could threat the originity of Indonesian nuftah plasma,” he said addingf that . wild animal trafficking transaction at international market reached up to US$180 billion.

Musyaffak the inernational transaction had triggered the trafficking and the smuggling of protected species from and to Indonesia to be rampant to happen.

Meanwhile, Puja Utama head of animal distribution control department at the Forestry Ministry said that the total population of the Indian star tortoise curently reached up to 32,500 all over the world.

“But if the illegal animal trafficking continues, sooner or later the species will face extinction,” he said.

He added that in domestic market, the price of a big Indian star tortoise measuring between 10 and 15 centi meters reach up to Rp 30 millions while the small ones measuring 5 up to centimeters were normally sold between Rp 8 and 10 millions.

Crackdown on high crime rate in Tangerang

Multa Fidrus The Jakarta Post | Wed, 03/07/2012 11:56 AM

TANGERANG: The Tangerang Police say that a fast-response policy and a new task force have led to 44 arrests in one week in one the nation’s most crime-ridden regencies.

“We quickly followed up every report that came in from the community and arrested 44 suspects between Feb. 27 and March 6,” Tangerang Regency Police chief Sr. Comr. Bambang Priyo Andogo said on Tuesday.

The suspects were detained for several offenses, including robbery, vehicle theft, burglary, weapon possessions and fraud.

“Tangerang regency has always been ranked third in the list of regions with the highest number of criminal cases across the nation. We are striving to reduce the regency’s crime ranking,” Bambang said.

The police recently set up an anti-crime task force to deter criminals by focusing on community monitoring and empowerment in 33 districts across the regency.

“Just three months after the task force was formed, the number of crimes solved by the police has sharply increased,” Bambang said.

Antasari to stay in jail on his daughter’s wedding party

Antasari to stay in jail on his daughter’s wedding party

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang | Mon, 03/05/2012 5:00 PM

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Antasari Azhar: Former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman.JP/J. Adiguna

Antasari Azhar confirmed that the Tangerang penitentiary had turned down his request for a permit to attend his daughter’s wedding reception.

“We have filed a request for a permit to leave the penitentiary during the process of my daughter’s wedding but the permit was only given to attend thesiraman [bathing] ritual on Thursday and the wedding ceremony on March. 9,” Antasari told a press conference at the Tangerang penitentiary on Monday.

Antasari, who looked fatter and healthier, said that he and his family respected the warden’s decision.

“I just want to give clarification on media reports about my plan to attend the wedding party. Controversial media reports have disturbed my family,” he said.

Law and Human Rights Ministry spokesman Goncang Raharjo said that the decision was fully the authority of warden Priyadi, who is on a minor pilgrimage journey in Mecca.

When asked why Antasari would only be allowed to attend the ritual and the ceremony, Goncang said that the wedding reception was only ceremonial.

“His presence during the ritual and the ceremony will legitimate his daughter’s wedding,” he said, adding that Antasari would be tightly escorted by the police and penitentiary officers.

Antasari’s daughter’s wedding proceedings will start on Thursday while the wedding reception will take place on Sunday at Balai Sudirman in South Jakarta.

Antasari was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the South Jakarta District Court for suggesting the murder of Putra Rajawali Banjaran director Nasruddin Zulkarnaen, who was shot in the temple while driving his car at the Modern Land housing estate, Tangerang municipality in 2009.

Former South Jakarta Police chief Williardi Wizar and media businessman Sigit Haryo Wibisono were also sentenced to 12 and 15 years respectively for orchestrating the murder with Antasari.