Indonesia arrests 285 in drug crackdown, seizes over half a ton of narcotics

Indonesian authorities said Monday they arrested 285 people suspected of drug trafficking, including 29 women and seven foreigners, and seized over half a ton of narcotics during a two-month crackdown.

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Indonesia is a major hub for drug trafficking in Southeast Asia despite having strict drug laws, with convicted smugglers sometimes executed by firing squad.

The head of the National Narcotic Agency, Marthinus Hukom, said the crackdown, launched between April and June across 20 provinces, also uncovered money laundering schemes by two drug syndicates and confiscated assets worth more than 26 billion rupiah (about $1.5 million).

Thirty-six of the suspects, including 21 women, were paraded in front of reporters, along with confiscated drugs, in their orange prison uniforms and hands handcuffed.

Hukom said the women arrested were mostly married without jobs outside the home.