The Jakarta Globe, 27 August 2015
Medan. The marijuana kingpins of the staunchly Islamic province of Aceh are taking to the skies after a series of busts on their trucks heading to Java.
Police at Kuala Namu International Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, confiscated on Thursday 158 kilograms of marijuana bound for Jakarta on board a Lion Air flight.
“This [smuggling attempt] was uncovered after airport officials carried out a standard check on the cargo being loaded,” Kuswadi, the airport’s head of security, said on Thursday. “That’s when we discovered the illicit substance.”
He said the marijuana was packed into four sacks that were lined with cakes, and set to be shipped by the logistics firm Pandu Siwi Sentosa.
Kuswadi said his office had notified police about the foiled smuggling attempt and details such as the identity and address of the person who paid to transport the drugs.
He did not mention any names or whether the logistics office knew about the nature of the cargo, but said police in Medan were dealing with the case.
The case is the latest in a series of increasingly common high-volume drug seizures made by authorities this year that indicate that the government’s controversial hard line on executing convicted drug convicts is proving to be of little or no deterrence for would-be smugglers.
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vr 28 aug 2015 - 10:41