Two immigration officers arrested for facilitating drug smuggling
Hasyim Widhiarto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 04/28/2010 5:48 PM | Jakarta
Jakarta Police’s anti narcotics division announced Wednesday it had arrested two immigration officers for allegedly facilitating drug smuggling in Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, for more than a year.
Speaking in a press conference, division chief Sr. Comr. Anjan Pramuka Putra said the two suspects, Lukman and Herry Pranowo, had been arrested on April 15 after the police had found strong evidences that they had attempted to help Indian national Narayanasamy Bhaskaran smuggle 15.3 kilograms of ketamine worth Rp 15 billion (US$1.67 million) through the airport earlier this month.
“The suspects helped the smuggler get his Visa on Arrival then took over his luggage for X-ray checking,” Anjan said.
During the X-ray checking, however, the on-duty customs and excises officers told their colleagues that they suspected the luggage they brought contained a suspicious material.
“The suspects initially insisted that the luggage only contained a number of smaller bags but they could do nothing when the customs and excise officers forced them to open the luggage,” Anjan said.
The police only arrested Narayanasamy on the crime scene. They finally arrested Lukman and Herry a week later after collecting evidences which include Narayanasamy’s testimony and CCTV recordings.
Ketamine is an anesthetic used for animals and humans, but its psychedelic side effects make it a popular recreational drug.
Although in several countries, including Singapore , Hong Kong , India and Canada , ketamine is a class 1 narcotic, it is not classified as a narcotic in Indonesia .
However, smuggling the drug carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of Rp 1 billion.
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