Authorities torch 5 hectares of marijuana plantations in Aceh, suspect held

JAKARTA: Authorities burnt five hectares of marijuana plantations to the ground in Jurong village, Sawang sub-district of Aceh.

Antara News agency reported that the joint effort on Wednesday include the police, military, National Narcotics Agency (BNN), and North Aceh district administration.

Local police also arrested a man, who was suspected of owning the marijuana plantation, while another suspect managed to escape.

According to Lhokeumawe Police chief Adjutant Senior Commander Eko Hartanto, there were some 15,000 marijuana plants in the area, located on a hill slope and could only be reached on foot.

The plants, suspected to have been planted by the first suspect two months ago, were uprooted and burnt.

The suspect could face life imprisonment if found guilty, he added.

Eko said police would continue to crack down on drug offenders in North Aceh district by collaborating with the local military and BNN officers.

“We urge our community members to help us fight against drugs by informing us if they find marijuana plantations inside the administrative areas of Lhokseumawe police precinct,” he added.

Aceh is among the Indonesian provinces which remain vulnerable to drug crimes.

On Oct 22 last year, BNN Aceh Office destroyed a 3.5ha marijuana plantation on a mountain slope in Lamteuba area of Aceh Besar district.

Assisted by local police and military personnel, BNN officers uprooted thousands of cannabis plants cultivated on a damaged forest site and burnt them.

BNN-Aceh Office head Heru Pranoto said destroying the marijuana plantation on one of Mount Seulawah’s slopes was part of the Aceh law enforcement agencies’ war on drugs.

“Our common mission will never end. We will keep searching for other plantations.”

The cooperation of local residents’ in the fight against drugs and the information they provided have helped BNN officers detect and destroy plantations which were mainly located in isolated areas, he added.

Police stated that marijuana was just one of the illicit drugs that traffickers in Aceh routinely transported to other provinces.

There were also attempts to smuggle crystal methamphetamine into Aceh from Malaysia, for trade inside and outside the province, officials added.