One of the reasons Indonesia is banning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is to prevent criminal dealings online, and this recent arrest in South Tangerang won’t do anything to alleviate those concerns.
The South Tangerang division of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) recently arrested a 32-year-old man, identified by his initials RU, who allegedly ordered ingredients to produce ecstasy from the Netherlands. The authorities say he made the payment for the ingredients using Bitcoin.
“The suspect is extraordinary in that he is a middle school graduate but he has extraordinary online exploration skills on his mobile phone. He found the black market and website, which can’t be accessed by regular people,” said BNN South Tangerang Chief Heri Istu Hariono, as quoted by Kompas today.
Heri said that RU planned to produce ecstasy on his own and distribute it in South Tangerang. RU was charged with drug trafficking and could face life imprisonment.
BNN is carrying out further investigations to see if the seller in the Netherlands is distributing narcotics ingredients to the country and accepting Bitcoin as payment.
While cryptocurrency-related arrests are rare in Indonesia, this is not the first time Bitcoin was used to pay for narcotics online from abroad. Back in March 2017, police in Medan, North Sumatra, arrested one person after he had used Bitcoin to buy ecstasy from France and the Netherlands.
