VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Amid reports of drug syndicates lacing instant food and beverages with marijuana to get children addicted to the narcotic, South Jakarta police have urged parents in the capital city to exercise care while buying packaged products.

"Please stay alert. Do not let yourselves get deceived by the pack cover of the cannabis-infused food and beverage products," South Jakarta Metropolitan Police chief, Sen.Coms. Budi Sartono, was quoted by ANTARA as saying here on Wednesday.

The warning has been issued after the recent arrest of two suspects, identified by their initials as AK and SN, over sale and production of marijuana-infused food and beverage products, he informed.

AK was apprehended in South Jakarta on December 11, 2020 for ordering and selling products made by SN, while SN was nabbed from his house in Aceh Besar district, Aceh on December 17, 2020, he said.

When investigators got several samples of chocolate milk powder that SN had supplied to AK examined in a laboratory, they were found to contain marijuana, he added.

Police also found substantial traces of marijuana in milk, coffee, and "dodol" (a traditional snack made of coconut milk, glutinous rice, and palm sugar) products confiscated from SN, he continued.

The suspects have been placed under police custody for further questioning since there is reason to believe SN may have supplied his products to Jakarta and its outskirts, Sartono said.

"We are still probing this possibility," he said, adding that the cannabis-laced milk powder was being sold in sachets like the ones usually found in cafes.

The marijuana-laced coffee powder was also being sold in sachets to avoid making consumers suspicious, said Sartono adding, police will seal the premises of shop-owners found selling any such products.

Domestic and transnational drug dealers consider Indonesia a potential market owing to its vast population and millions of drug users. Drug trade in the nation is valued at nearly Rp66 trillion.

People from all strata of society are falling prey to drugs, regardless of their socio-economic and professional backgrounds.

The Indonesian government has taken harsh punitive action against drug kingpins found smuggling and trading drugs in the country over the past few decades.

National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief, Commissioner General Heru Winarko, has sought capital punishment for those involved in drug trade in the country. Meanwhile, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has issued shoot-at-sight orders against drug kingpins.

According to National Police chief, General Idham Azis, Indonesian district courts have awarded capital punishment to at least 100 drug offenders in the first half of this year.

However, this has failed to deter drug traffickers, who continue to treat Indonesia as a main market, prompting Indonesian law enforcers to tighten vigilance against them.