A Month Of Operation, West Papua National Narcotics Agency Arrested 5 Jayapura-Sorong Network Narcotics Dealers

West Papua BNN Head Brigadier General Heri Istu Hariono (central) together with Manokwari Customs Head Johan Pandoes (left) and KBO West Papua Police Resnarkoba Directorate Grand Commissioner Adjutant Risaldi (right)/VIA ANTARA

PAPUA - The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) of West Papua Province during the January-February 2023 period managed to arrest five suspected drug dealers of the Jayapura-Sorong network with the initials MH, MFH, GAS, NP, and MMO. Head of West Papua BNN Brigadier General Heri Istu Hariono said the suspects MFH, GAS, and NP were members of a syndicate of Jayapura-Sorong dried marijuana trafficking. Meanwhile, the other two suspects each have different syndicates. "So, this is an arrest from January to February 2023 with three police reports," said Heri when releasing the case in Manokwari, as reported by Antara, Tuesday, February 21. The first suspect arrested by the West Papua BNN team and Manokwari Customs and Excise was MH with evidence of nearly 300 grams of dried marijuana packaged in clear plastic as much as 17 packs. MH was arrested on a ship anchored at Manokwari Port when he was about to go to Sorong on January 23, 2023, but most of the dried marijuana was successfully circulated by MH through syndicates in Manokwari. "Actually, from MH's hand, there is other evidence, but we are missing momentum and have circulated in Manokwari," said Heri. The BNN team received information from the public regarding the distribution of dried marijuana using a ship from Jayapura to Sorong on February 12, 2023. The team then coordinated with the Manokwari Customs to conduct an inspection on the ship and succeeded in finding the suspect MFH along with evidence of marijuana weighing 9.2 kilograms. MFH admitted that the marijuana was ordered by the GAS suspect to run illegal businesses in the Sorong area, Southwest Papua. The team then devised a strategy for the GAS suspect to take orders for marijuana brought by MFH. "The GAS suspect came with his colleague NP to take the goods and then we arrested them. The three suspects are a syndicate," explained Heri. Another suspected dealer, namely MMO, was arrested by the BNN team at the same time as MFH's arrest on the ship to Sorong, but the MMO suspect was not part of the MFH, GAS, and NP syndicates. Evidence of dried marijuana confiscated from the hands of the suspect MMO was 1.2 kilograms, bringing the total marijuana seized from three police reports of approximately 10 kilograms. "The BB (evidence) of the MMO suspect has been divided into 58 clear plastics ready to be distributed. This MMO is the syndicate itself," added the Head of the West Papua BNN. He said the three suspects who were members of a syndicate were charged with Article 111 paragraph (1) and (2) subsidiary to Article 114 paragraph (2) of Law Number 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. Meanwhile, the MMO and MH suspects were charged with Article 111 paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) subsidiary to Article 114 paragraph (2) of Law Number 35 of 2009. "The threat of imprisonment is a maximum of 20 years. The GAS suspect is a recidivist, so there is an additional weight article," added Heri. He added that the circulation of marijuana in West Papua and Southwest Papua is dominated by marijuana from Papua New Guinea which is distributed using sea transportation. Therefore, BNN hopes that the community will play an active role in providing reports so that efforts to eradicate illicit narcotics trafficking run optimally. Head of the Manokwari Customs Office Johan Pandores said the cooperation between the West Papua BNN, Manokwari Customs and Excise, and the West Papua Police's Narcotics Directorate resulted in positive results in efforts to eradicate narcotics crimes. According to Johan, eradicating narcotics abuse requires support not only across stakeholders, but all elements of society in the local area so that the younger generation of Papua is free from the bad influence of drugs.