Indonesia arrests 285 in drug crackdown and seizes over half a ton of narcotics

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian authorities said Monday they arrested 285 people suspected of drug trafficking, including 29 women and seven foreigners, and seized over half a ton of various narcotics during a two-monthlong nationwide crackdown.
Indonesia is a major hub for drug trafficking in Southeast Asia despite having strict drug laws, with convicted smugglers sometimes executed by firing squad.

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38 minutes ago

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Judge cites community impact in 10-year sentence for 'high-level' drug trafficker

A Newfoundland and Labrador judge handed down a 10-year sentence to a man for drug trafficking — exceeding what both the defence and Crown had been seeking — citing the role the man plays in harming the community. Martin Tulk, 40, was convicted of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking in February, along with possession of money obtained by the commission of an indictable offence and weapons offences, including having a prohibited weapon. "It is well accepted that trial judges are likely to be among the first to become aware of changes in the community served by the court," Justice Peter O'Flaherty wrote in his decision. "In addition to the alarming increase in cocaine deaths, I am satisfied that the impact of cocaine trafficking on the safety and security of St. John's, N.L., which was previously the envy of many urban communities in Canada, has also become a heightened and growing concern." The Crown had wanted a seven and a half year sentence, while Tulk's lawyer sought five and a half years. In his decision, O'Flaherty cited the significant amount of cocaine and cash involved, the high-level role Tulk played in the province's trafficking, his prior record, the lack of mitigating factors and the impact of Tulk's crime in the local community. "For whatever reason, or combination of reasons, cocaine has found very fertile ground in the community served by this Court," he wrote. "In the past couple of years there has been anecdotal information to support a significant increase in the number of deaths from cocaine overdoses." As part of an 11-month-long police investigation, in September 2021 police saw Tulk accept nine bricks of cocaine, weighing 10.14 kilograms, from a drug courier. He then gave the woman $388,965 in cash. They were both arrested. In his decision, O'Flaherty described Tulk as having a "sophisticated" operation and was "at the apex of the local cocaine trafficking operation." According to the evidence, O'Flaherty said Tulk didn't work but lived a "prosperous" lifestyle funded by drug trafficking. O'Flaherty said the courts are seeing more and more cases involving gun violence, random violent crime and homicide where cocaine was involved. Police also regularly use tactical units to arrest drug traffickers. "As the facts of this case show, local cocaine traffickers possess firearms, including prohibited handguns, as 'tools of the trade.' That is the unfortunate reality we face in 2025," he said. O'Flaherty also asked the Crown to gather information from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on the number of accidental cocaine overdoses in the province. According to the chart, included in the decision, between 2021 to 2024 there were 101 cocaine related deaths. As a result, O'Flaherty argues cocaine "poses the greatest threat to the health, safety and security of the members of this community." Dr. Nash Denic, Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical examiner, has been warning about the deadly effects of cocaine and the prevalence of drug use in younger people. CBC News has reported deaths from cocaine have spiked since 2014. O'Flaherty also said he believes Tulk has a high chance to reoffend in the future. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.

Yahoo

3 hours ago

• Yahoo

285 arrested after massive drugs haul seized by Indonesian authorities

Indonesian authorities said they arrested 285 people suspected of drug trafficking, including 29 women and seven foreigners, and seized more than half a ton of various substances during a two-month-long nationwide crackdown. Indonesia is a major hub for drug trafficking in Southeast Asia despite having strict drug laws, with convicted smugglers sometimes executed by firing squad. The head of the National Narcotic Agency, Marthinus Hukom, said the crackdown, launched between April and June across 20 provinces, also uncovered money laundering schemes by two drug syndicates and confiscated assets worth more than 26 billion rupiah (about £1.1 million). Thirty-six of the suspects, including 21 women, were paraded in front of reporters, along with confiscated drugs, in their orange prison uniforms and hands handcuffed. Mr Hukom said the women arrested were mostly housewives. 'I call on Indonesian women to be more vigilant in establishing friendships both in the real world and in cyberspace,' he said during a joint press conference with officials from the security affairs ministry and the customs office who took part in the operation. One of the agency's deputies, Budi Wibowo, said authorities seized 683,885 grams (0.68 ton) of crystal meth, marijuana, ecstasy, THC, hashish and amphetamines, adding this helped stop them falling into the hands of 'more than 1.3 million people'. Mr Wibowo also said that drug syndicates have used various methods to distribute narcotics to users via land and sea transportation or mail services. The seven foreign nationals were an American, two Kazakhs, two Malaysians, an Indian and an Australian, Mr Wibowo said. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says Indonesia is a major drug-smuggling hub in part because international drug syndicates target its young population. In a separate operation, authorities in the province of Riau Island, exposed in May two cases of drug smuggling in its waters and seized 2.7 tons of crystal methamphetamine and 1.2 tons of ketamine, Mr Hukom said on Monday. In 2023, authorities uncovered more than 52,000 of drug cases and confiscated 6.2 tons of crystal meth, 1.1 tons of marijuana and other types of synthetic narcotics, said Mochammad Hasan of the ministry of security affairs during the press conference. Mr Hasan said the number increased in 2024 with more than 56,000 cases and confiscated 7.5 tons of crystal meth and 3.3 tons of marijuana, with a combine value worth 7.5 trillion rupiah (£340 million). Authorities have arrested a total of 27,357 drug suspects by November 2024, he said. Early this month, three British nationals accused of smuggling nearly a kilogram of cocaine into Indonesia were charged in a court on the tourist island of Bali. They face the death penalty under the country's strict drug laws. About 530 people, including 96 foreigners, are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections' data showed. Indonesia's last executions, of an Indonesian and three foreigners, were carried out in July 2016.

Washington Post

4 hours ago

• Washington Post

Indonesia arrests 285 in drug crackdown and seizes over half a ton of narcotics

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian authorities said Monday they arrested 285 people suspected of drug trafficking, including 29 women and seven foreigners, and seized over half a ton of various narcotics during a two-monthlong nationwide crackdown. Indonesia is a major hub for drug trafficking in Southeast Asia despite having strict drug laws, with convicted smugglers sometimes executed by firing squad.