REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SIDOARJO -- Police in the East Java city of Sidoarjo have arrested 90 people on charges of abusing drugs and liquor in a 12-day raid. During the raid conducted from April 13 to 24, the police also seized 20.36 kilograms of hashish, 90.449 grams of crystal meth, 152 pills of double L, and 65 ecstasy pills.
Chief of the Sidoarjo City Police, Senior Commissioner Himawan Bayu Aji, said the police also disclosed two syndicates, namely Gedangan syndicate and Medan-Sidoarjo intercity syndicate.
Ninety people have been named suspects in the case. "All the 90 suspects, comprising 88 men and 2 women, are traffickers" he noted on Wednesday.
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He made it clear that the arrest of the suspects was the result of an operation codenamed "Tumpas Narkoba Semeru 2018," which was aimed at curbing drug trafficking and abuse in Sidoarjo.
"We also seized 3,198 bottles of liquor in the raid," he added.
The liquor is believed to have come from other regions, as the police have found no liquor factory in Sidoarjo, he revealed.
"We have committed ourselves to control and supervise the routes used to transport liquor to Sidoarjo," he explained.
"We will make constant efforts to minimize drug trafficking in Sidoarjo district, East Java," he asserted.
The raid came as a response to the increase in the number of deaths caused by bootleg liquor in several parts of the country.