Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A Samosir Police officer in North Sumatra was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of smuggling 15 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.
The North Sumatra Police began their investigation into the suspect, a 34-year-old police brigadier identified as S, following an anonymous tip-off a week before the arrest.
The police's narcotics unit head, Sr. Comr. Hendri Marpaung, said S and another suspect named Alawi aka Otong, were arrested near Asahan in Pematang Siantar city on Sunday.
The two suspects were shot in the leg after they tried to evade arrest when an officer stopped the car they were reportedly using to smuggle the drugs from Tanjung Balai city to Pematang Siantar, and later to neighboring Simalungun regency.
"The suspects are in our custody and will undergo examinations and interrogation to shed some light on the drug syndicate and how it involved a police officer," Hendri said on Monday.
A preliminary investigation found that the drugs had been smuggled from Malaysia and were received by the two suspects in Tanjung Balai.
It remains unclear who smuggled the drugs from Malaysia to Tanjung Balai. S was reportedly a member of the Samosir Police's quick response unit. (ipa)