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The Hong Kong Police joined hands with its counterparts in Indonesia, Australia and the United States in an operation which successfully dealt a hard blow to a transnational drug trafficking syndicate with five men arrested in Indonesia and a warehouse and a drug laboratory smashed in the country.
Officers of the Narcotics Bureau (NB) of the Hong Kong Police and officers from the Indonesian National Police, the Australian Federal Police and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration started the operation in July this year.
Since then, the NB officers had identified the head of a transnational drug trafficking syndicate and his involvement in setting up a drug laboratory in Indonesia.
Continuous intelligence exchanges among the four law enforcement agencies led to the identification of the location of a warehouse in Banyuwangi and a drug laboratory in Malang in East Java.
The operation turned overt in the early morning on November 23 when five Indonesian men were arrested in Indonesia and the warehouse and drug laboratory smashed.
A large quantity of chemicals for producing Ectasy type drugs and related drug manufacturing equipment were seized by the Indonesian National Police. One of the arrested persons is believed to be the syndicate head who has ties with Hong Kong and the Mainland.
According to the intelligence gathered, the drugs produced are destined for markets in South East Asia, Australia and Hong Kong. The drug laboratory in Malang is believed to be capable of producing 36,000 ecstasy tablets of some HK$2.88 million retail value in every three days of operation.
It is also believed that production at the laboratory has commenced since February 2005.
Police Report No. 6
Issued by PPRB
Ends/Friday, November 25, 2005
Issued at HKT 18:51
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