The Jakarta Metro Police on Sunday arrested a celebrity comedian named Pretty Asmara on drug trafficking charges, which set off a media frenzy not only because of her celebrity status but also because she heads the Anti-Narcotics Indonesian Celebrities (SANI) coalition.
Police say Pretty was arrested in the lobby of the Grand Mercure hotel in Central Jakarta with a drug dealer, with whom she was carrying out a transaction. Police confiscated 0.92 grams of meth during the bust.
The police also arrested seven other, lesser-known celebrities in a karaoke room in the hotel who are thought to have been involved in the drug deal. From them, the police confiscated 1.12 grams of meth, 23 ecstasy pills, and 38 happy five pills.
Police say that Pretty tested negative for drugs, but they believe she still played a role in the drug deal.
“On someone else’s request, Pretty made the order (for the drugs to the drug dealer),” said Dony Alexander, head of a narcotics unit at the Jakarta Metro Police, as quoted by Detik yesterday.
The police suspect that Pretty, while not a drug user herself, has been facilitating drug deals for other celebrities for two years. As such, Pretty’s cellphone has become a crucial piece of evidence in the police’s bid to uncover more drug trafficking rings among celebrities.
Pretty has not made a public statement regarding her arrest. But when she and the other suspects were made to appear in front of journalists during a police press conference yesterday, she screamed “I was trapped!” repeatedly and denied that she has been dealing drugs or facilitating their sale.
Pretty was appointed head of SANI in mid-2016. She has since appeared in anti-drug campaigns, including those that were run by the Indonesian National Narcotics Agency (BNN).
Drug trafficking is a severe crime in Indonesia, and can be punishable by death. The punishments for using drugs are much less severe, with offenders, more often than not (particularly celebrities), legally required to attend rehab.
