17 Arrested for Drug Trafficking Before Djakarta Warehouse Project

According to Indonesian authorities, drug trafficking networks had planned out schemes involving the Djakarta Warehouse Project festival.

The 2024 edition of Djakarta Warehouse Project had been complicated by reports of increased drug circulation. This year, Indonesian authorities ramped up investigations, leading to the arrest of 17 individuals on suspicion of drug trafficking prior to the December 12-14 event in Bali.

Brigadier General Eko Hadi Santoso of the Criminal Investigation Agency shared the results of their operation in a December 22 press conferencein South Jakarta. He said that 16 of the individuals detained were Indonesian nationals. Of them, ten were men and six were women. The 17th detainee is said to hail from Peru, and seven additional suspects remain on a wanted list.

Santoso also touched on the staggering amounts of illicit substances seized by authorities. Altogether, the suspects will be tried for possession of 31 kilograms of methamphetamine, 956 ecstasy pills, one kilogram of ketamine, 33 grams of cocaine, 37 grams of cannabis, and 24 grams of powdered ecstasy.

Also seized in the bust were two party drugs popular in Southeast Asia. One is happy water, which can contain various blends of substances like ketamine, MDMA, tramadol, diazepam, and caffeine. The other is happy five, the street name for an ecstasy replacement called nimetazepam that is known for causing minimal hangover.

Santoso conceded security measures had been lackluster around Djakarta Warehouse Project 2024. “We have changed our approach,” he said, noting that the sting around the 2025 edition would inform their broader drug trafficking prevention strategy, especially in regards to international gatherings.

The police value the drugs seized at around 60.5 billion rupiah ($3.9 million). Indonesia famously enforces some of the most strict drug trafficking laws in the world, with penalties historically including life imprisonment and even execution by firing squad in certain cases.