Drug-dealing spots identified<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Narcotics Agency (BNP) declared on Tuesday several
\nareas in the city as trouble spots where drug trafficking was
\nrampant.<\/p>\n
\"These trouble spots need special handling in order to reduce
\ndrug trafficking there,\" BNP chairman Fauzi Bowo said at City
\nHall.<\/p>\n
He named Duripulo subdistrict near Roxy electronics center in
\nWest Jakarta and Kampung Ambon subdistrict in Cengkareng district
\nin West Jakarta as two of the areas where drug dealing was
\nrampant.<\/p>\n
Fauzi, who is also Jakarta deputy governor, said that his
\nagency along with police's drug squad had identified one of the
\nroots of drug trafficking problems in those areas as the high
\nunemployment rate.<\/p>\n
\"Because most residents in those trouble spots are jobless,
\nthey are easy prey for drug rings who have unlimited funds to
\nrecruit them as drug pushers and dealers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"In the past, we know that Kampung Bali in Tanah Abang
\ndistrict in Central Jakarta was a troubled area, but since
\nvarious parties have given a helping hand, the drug problem in
\nthe area has been reduced significantly, though, we still need to
\nmonitor the area,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Fauzi also named Warakas in North Jakarta, Galur in Senen,
\nCentral Jakarta, and Kebon Kacang in Central Jakarta as troubled
\nareas.<\/p>\n
The involvement of residents in the drug network has made the
\ncrackdown on drug trafficking at those locations more complicated
\nas residents tried to hide the business from law enforcers, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"We need more comprehensive efforts involving various parties
\nin those communities to solve the problem, including measures to
\nprovide jobs for the residents,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The administration has so far selected 10 of 44 districts in
\nthe capital to receive more funds for antidrug programs in their
\ncommunities.<\/p>\n
The programs are chaired by district heads with police
\nprecinct chiefs as deputies.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that efforts to combat drug trafficking had to
\ninvolve the public, or they would fail.<\/p>\n
There are an estimated 10,000 injecting drug users (IDUs) in
\nthe capital. Those drug users face a higher risk of contracting
\nHIV by sharing used needles.<\/p>\n
An official report showed that as of Dec. 31, 2004, the city
\nhad the highest recorded number of people living with HIV\/AIDS at
\n2,505, or 45 percent of the 5,540 officially reported cases of
\nHIV\/AIDS nationwide.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/drug-dealing-spots-identified-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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