JAKARTA: The National Narcotics Agency has dismantled a clandestine laboratory producing crystal methamphetamine in an apartment near Jakarta.
This operation followed weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering by BNN and Customs officials.
Officers raided a unit in an apartment building in Cisauk, Tangerang regency, Banten province, last Friday.
Two suspects involved in producing the meth and another in its distribution were arrested.
All three are repeat offenders previously convicted in a similar case in 2016.
The group produced methamphetamine by extracting precursor chemicals from around 15,000 asthma tablets.
This process yielded around one kilogram of pure ephedrine using laboratory equipment and materials bought online.
During the raid, authorities seized 209 grams of crystal meth and 319 millilitres of liquid meth.
They also confiscated 1.06 kilograms of ephedrine and various chemicals including acetone and sulphuric acid.
The laboratory is believed to have generated about one billion rupiah over the past six months.
BNN said the case shows its commitment to eradicating narcotics amid increasingly complex methods by drug syndicates.
This includes using apartments for hidden production and distribution operations.
The suspects have been charged under Indonesia’s Narcotics Law No. 35 of 2009.
This law carries penalties ranging from five years in prison to the death sentence. – Bernama
