Jakarta. Joint operations by the customs office and the police have successfully foiled attempts to smuggle more than 20,000 ecstasy pills disguised as car parts into Indonesia.

According to Jakarta Customs Office Head Rusman Hadi, the pills were imported from Belgium and the Netherlands in two separate incidents using postal services.

The first shipment from Belgium arrived at the Pasar Baru Post Office on April 5.

"The package was declared as a set of car parts specially for Honda vehicles, but upon examination, six transparent plastic bags containing thousands of ecstasy pills were discovered," Rusman said during a news conference at the Pasar Baru customs clearance facility.

The package contained 18,259 ecstasy pills weighing 9.6 kilograms.

On April 22, a second package from the Netherlands arrived at the same post office.

"It also utilized a false declaration claiming to contain magazines. However, upon inspection, two plastic bags containing 2,013 ecstasy pills weighing 1.06 kilograms were found," he added.

In an effort to trace the recipients of the illegal drugs, the customs office collaborated with the police to conduct controlled deliveries to the intended addresses.

The package from Belgium was traced to Bandung and Pasuruan, resulting in the arrest of four suspects.

"Another suspect, identified as an Iranian national with initials RA, remains at large," Rusman mentioned.

The package from the Netherlands was destined for an address in North Jakarta, where police arrested two suspects.

Indonesia maintains one of the strictest anti-drug laws globally, with convicted drug traffickers facing the death penalty.

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