VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Police officials in Indonesia and Malaysia have intensified their cooperation against cross-border drug trafficking in the two countries, a senior Riau Islands police official said here Tuesday. "There must be cooperation between the two police forces," Riau Islands Police' Director of Drug Case Investigation Unit Senior Commissioner K Yani Sudarto said.

The Riau Islands Police has thwarted numerous attempts to smuggle drugs from Malaysia, which are for distribution in some regions in Indonesia, he said.

Malaysia is used as a transit point for the illicit drugs produced in a third country, before it can be smuggled into Indonesia and Australia, according to Sudarto.

Earlier, Barelang police in Batam seized 38.666 kg of methamphetamine from a drug courier aboard a speedboat in Kasem Island waters of Batam.

The police arrested the courier after a two-month investigation into the case, Barelang police chief Senior Commissioner Hengki said.

The meth was concealed in a suitcase and a backpack. The suitcase contained 24 packs of methamphetamine, while 13 other packets of the drugs were hidden in a backpack.

"With the seizure of the drugs, we assume that we have saved 115,982 people, with average use of one mg of drug per 3 to 4 users," he added.

The drugs were allegedly smuggled from Malaysia to Jakarta from the sea.

The police are still investigating the case, he said