Indonesian police nab seven in crystal meth bust

Jakarta - Indonesian authorities have arrested two Chinese nationals and five locals for their involvement in producing crystal methamphetamine in the country, national police chief said Friday.

General Bambang Bendarso Danuri said the seven were arrested by the city police in a raid against a crystal methamphetamine factory at a rented house in western Jakarta suburb of Kebon Jeruk.

Danuri was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency that officers seized 10 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, locally called "shabu-shabu," as well as confiscated a number of chemicals that were used to produce the banned pills.

"Two of the arrested people were foreigners, identified as Yiu Wings, 50 and Chi Shing, 47. Both them were from China," he said, adding that the group are a new network of a syndicate.

Senior Commissioner Arman Depari of the Jakarta city police's drugs unit, the suspects were using raw material imported from China.

Depari said the suspects also claimed to sell the crystal methamphetamine to Hong Kong, but added that it was possible the shabu-shabu also were sold in Jakarta.

It was the latest drugs seizure by Indonesian authorities this year involving foreign nationalities.

In late February, the Indonesian police arrested five foreigners - three Taiwanese, a Singaporean and a Dutch - and one local, suspected to be members of an international drug syndicate. During the raid, they seized 600,000 ecstasy pills worth up to 6.4 million dollars.

In November 2007, police confiscated some 822,000 ecstasy pills in two different raids in western and northern Jakarta. Police also seized an equivalent of 866,000 dollars and 581,000 Hong Kong dollars in cash. Two Indonesians and two Malaysian were nabbed in that raid. (dpa)

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