Council to probe police involvement in drug sales

Council to probe police involvement in drug sales

JAKARTA (JP): The City Council's Commission E for social
welfare affairs said on Friday it would invite Jakarta Police
chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajusman to clarify on Oct. 19 an
allegation that police are involved in the resale of impounded
drugs.

Commission E secretary Ishak Iskandar said the clarification
was needed to tackle the roots of the problem, which needed to be
defined before the council could formulate plans to combat drug
issues.

"We hope that the drug eradication movement will not be just
lip service.

"The police have successfully conducted raids and confiscated
a huge amount of drugs, but on the other hand they, or several
officers within the police corps, are supplying the sedatives
back onto the market," he said.

Ishak, a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, said the council would force
the police and the city administration to seriously address the
war against drugs, including the resale of drugs.

He said the council would also invite other related
institutions to attend the meeting with the city police chief.

At a recent seminar on drug abuse, lawyer Henry Yosodiningrat
suggested that police could be implicated in the resale of
confiscated drugs.

"Drug prices usually decrease after a police raid. It's a
strong indication that the confiscated drugs were resold," Henry
said.

Tip-offs

The media have recently been swamped with stories on drug
seizures by police. In what police claimed was their biggest drug
bust in 15 years, officers seized on Wednesday from a North
Jakarta location 929 kilograms of marijuana, worth about Rp 1.85
billion.

Last September, the police confiscated 602 kilograms of
marijuana, while in July they seized 245 kilograms of marijuana.

In response to persistent drug trafficking in the city,
neighborhoods have become actively involved in drug tip-offs to
police. The spirit is clearly visible in the city's densely
populated subdistricts, with banners strung across streets
declaring war against drug trafficking.

In Central Jakarta, banners are seen in the Tanah Abang,
Petamburan and Karet subdistricts. In East Jakarta, they are
found in Jatinegara subdistrict, on Jl. Dewi Sartika and in
Kampung Bali Matraman subdistrict.

Ishak praised the community's active involvement in the war
against drugs.

He said it would be more effective if the administration
distributed in public places leaflets which outlined the
sentences handed down for drug trafficking or possession.

"People will then be well informed, not only about the
antidrug movement, but also about the consequences," he said.

Another PDI Perjuangan legislator, Audy I.Z. Tambunan, also
supported the display of antidrug banners.

"Banners will not be effective in eradicating drug use. But at
least they will restrain people from involvement in drug
trafficking.

"People should work hand in hand in a campaign against drugs,
because it involves a big business network," he said.

Audy questioned the effectiveness of the implementation of the
death penalty, which is stipulated in the 1997 law on narcotics.

"The law has so far never been implemented toward the drug
traffickers." (ind)