"This condition is so encouraging, as the prevention efforts get started from public awareness," Deputy Director of South Kalimantan Police's Narcotics Investigation Division Adjunct Sen. Coms. Ernesto Saiser remarked.
The war on drugs must get started right from the level of community members, namely those caring for their safety as well as that of their families and communities, he noted here, Friday.
In this regard, community members should help the police's crackdowns on drug dealers by proactively giving tip-offs about drug trafficking attempts in their neighborhood to the cops, he emphasized.
Those drug-free villages can protect local residents from any drug threat, Saiser stated without mentioning the total number of villages that have been declared as "drug free" in South Kalimantan.
South Kalimantan remains vulnerable to drug trafficking operations. Local police officers, for instance, seized some 35 kg of crystal methamphetamine from a truck driver on January 14, 2023.
ANTARA reported earlier that the drug seizure was another indication of the continued threat posed by local and transnational drug rings in Indonesia.
According to South Kalimantan Police Chief Inspector General Andi Rian R. Djajadi, the drug package, packed into 35 Chinese tea bags mixed with food products, was confiscated from RS, 42.
The police arrested the drug courier while he was staying at a hotel after having arrived at Banjarmasin City's Trisakti Port from Surabaya, East Java, with his truck that was loaded with the crystal meth.
RS, a resident of Barito Kuala District, told investigators that he was merely a courier, who was promised to be paid if he transported the package from Surabaya to Banjarmasin.
Domestic and transnational drug dealers consider Indonesia a potential market due to its vast population and millions of drug users.
The value of drug trade in the country is estimated to have reached nearly Rp66 trillion, as the number of drug trafficking cases continue to increase.
A joint survey conducted by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in 2019 pegged the number of drug users in Indonesia at over 3.4 million.
The survey conducted in 34 provinces indicated that about 180 out of every 10 thousand Indonesians in the age group of 15 to 64 years were addicted to drugs.
The users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other types of addictive drugs can belong to any community and socioeconomic and cultural background.
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Translator: Firman, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
