Nine police officers, including two women, have been detained after they were caught attending a drug party at a cafe on Jl. Listrik in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province, Indonesian police said.
It is also reported that the arrested police officers belong to mobile brigade unit and Binjai Police precinct and are currently being questioned by the Police Internal Affairs. North Sumatra Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Rina Sari Ginting said that the two women, who were also arrested during the raid, were handed to the police detectives for further questioning and will be rehabilitated after investigation, reported the Jakarta Post.
The officers also said that all the detained police personnel and women have undergone drug tests. "We have conducted urine tests on them. All of them were found positive for drugs," said Rina, as reported. "They [the officers] will face legal proceedings, and they could face rulings ranging from transfer to dismissal," she added.
Drug consumption among people in the second largest Muslim-majority nation in the world has become a serious concern and drug-related crimes have been on rise thereafter.
In the month of July, Indonesia executed four convicted drug offenders, including two Nigerians, one Senegalese and one Indonesian man. The convicts were shot by the firing squad at the Nusakambangan prison island.
Indonesia is one of the few countries which have the death penalty for drug abuse. On 8 September, Indonesia drug chief, Budi Waseso, praised Philippines President Duterte and called for Philippine-style crackdown in the country. In a press conference held by Indonesia's anti-narcotics agency (BNN), the chief said the country would boost its arsenal of weapons, officers and technology devoted to combating the drugs trade.
