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An inmate inside the maximum security Nusakambangan prison was allegedly running a multi-million dollar drug syndicate operating in Indonesia and Malaysia, police said on Wednesday.

Jakarta Metro Police’s director of narcotics, Sr. Comr. Nugroho Aji, said members of the syndicate had been arrested in three locations in Jakarta following a three-month stakeout.

Police confiscated about 52,000 ecstasy pills and 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine worth Rp 18.3 billion ($2.1 million).

“It was eventually revealed that the syndicate is also operating in Malaysia,” Nugroho said at a news conference.

The network, he said, was controlled by T.K., who is currently serving a 10-year sentence at the prison in Cilacap, Central Java.

“The syndicate was unraveled after police caught two methamphetamine dealers with initials S.K. and A.T., as well as S.N. and A.N.D. in Pasar Baru [Central Jakarta] on September 2,” he said, adding that S.N. and A.N.D. were Malaysian nationals.

From the four suspects, police were able to develop the case further and arrested a woman identified as D.P.A. in South Jakarta on Sept. 10, confiscating 15,000 ecstasy pills.

D.P.A. told police that she got the pills from a Malaysian named A.B.D. and an Indonesian named T.G.. “A.B.D. and T.G. are being pursued by police,” Nugroho said.

Police arrested a man identified as R.N.D. in Depok three days later, taking possession of tens of thousands of ecstasy pills. Police said R.N.D. acted as the syndicate’s main drug supplier to the country.

“Based on information from R.N.D., the whole operation is funded by T.K. and controlled from Nusakambangan prison,” Nugroho said.

“[T.K.] communicated through cellphones. He also checked his account using his cellphone. If prison officials had been consistent about not allowing anyone to use cellphones, the whole network could have been stopped.”

Nugroho said T.K. relied on A.B.D. and T.G. to supply methamphetamine from Iran and ecstasy pills from the Netherlands. The drugs were allegedly shipped to Malaysia before entering the country by sea at Medan.

Police suspect the drugs were sent to Jakarta by land.

“If we look at the records from all the suspects, they had been communicating with T.K. frequently,” police investigator Adj. Sr. Comr. Eko Saputro said, adding that the syndicate had been operating for more than a year.

“The latest shipment arrived about a month ago and some had been marketed, although it is unknown how much was sold or how much money they made,” Eko said.

Police are coordinating with prison officials to arrange for the arraignment of T.K. All suspects have been charged under the 2009 Law on Narcotics, meaning they could face the death penalty if convicted.