National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chairman Comr. Gen. Heru Winarko (center), accompanied by BNN eradication deputy Insp. Gen. Arman Depari (third left) and House or Representatives Commission III member Hinca Panjaitan (fifth left) show narcotics to the press at the BNN parking lot in Cawang, Jakarta Friday (1/3/2019). The BNN destroyed 99.7 kilograms of methamphetamine, 9,990 ecstasy pills and 118.34 kg of khat leaf, which had been seized from four suspects.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – A revision of regulations is necessary to improve law enforcement against drug abuse and the drug trade. This has become particularly clear with the National Narcotics Agency’s most recent update on the number of narcotics found in Indonesia, which increased from last year’s 73 types to 74 this year.
This is the statement delivered by BNN chief Comr. Gen. Heru Winarko on the sidelines of the destruction of 99.7 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 9,990 ecstasy pills and 118.34 kg of khat leaves in Jakarta on Friday (1/3/2019). He said such public destruction of narcotics would remain an ineffective strategy in the fight against drug syndicates as long as the government and the House of Representatives did not strengthen the relevant regulations.
These regulations include Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics. Despite President Joko Widodo’s full support for the fight against narcotics, eight of the 74 types of narcotics circulating in Indonesia have yet to be listed as illegal substances. This hinders effective law enforcement. The BNN, Heru said, was in the process of proposing a revision of the Narcotics Law to add these eight “new substances” to the list of narcotics.
“Ecstasy contains PMA [paramethoxyamphetamine] and MMA, aside from MDMA, with one of the effects being hallucinations. This is an effort to save our children and prevent narcotics misuse by them,” Heru said, accompanied by BNN deputy of eradication, Insp. Gen. Arman Depari.
At the same occasion, BNN personnel set aside 94 grams of crystal meth, 10 ecstasy pills and 140 g of khat leaves for lab tests and as evidence in legal cases. House Commission III member Hinca Panjaitan from the Democratic Party was present at the narcotics destruction.
International syndicate
Heru said the destroyed drugs had been gathered from four separate narcotics cases, each with a different modus operandi. One stemmed from an attempt to smuggle 118,840 g of dried khat leaves in eight boxes from Ethiopia in eastern Africa to two fictitious addresses.
Fresh leaves of the khat plant (Catha edulis) can be consumed as a snack. It is known as a stimulant and can lead to addiction. The plant grows in eastern African countries, such as Somalia, and on the Arabian Peninsula.
Police first uncovered two cases of khat smuggling when officers were suspicious about packages sent from Ethiopia. An X-ray scan revealed that the packages contained dried, tea-like leaves packed in plastic.
“A subsequent lab test found that the dried leaves were cathinone-type narcotics. The packages were sent to two fictitious addresses in separate locations, namely Tangerang [in Banten] and Cirebon [in West Java],” Heru said. The perpetrators are still at large.
Apart from by air, international syndicates also smuggle narcotics into Indonesia by sea and by land. Some 74 kg of crystal meth and 10,000 ecstasy pills were found to have been transported by ship through the Jambo Aye waters in North Aceh regency, Aceh. Meanwhile, around 25 kg of crystal meth was found carried across the Aceh-North Sumatra border by truck.
Hinca said the new cases revealed a dangerous situation. House Commission III, Hinca said, fully supported the BNN, including its request for a Narcotics Law revision. “This is horrifying. We support the effort to revise the Narcotics Law so that the BNN can be more agile and quick in its field work,” Hinca said.
Lecturer and narcotics policy researcher Asmin Fransiska of Atma Jaya University’s school of law said efforts to prevent drug abuse in Indonesia should be strengthened. Narcotics issues would not be resolved by law enforcement alone.
Asmin said that, in several countries, preventive efforts could involve drug tests in places where young people often hang out. “We use a health approach to prevent the adverse effects of narcotics. Research has shown that this is far more effective than arrests. When you only do arrests, new criminals will always crop up. They have a well-organized network, money and connections,” she said. (E20/HAM/WAD)
