Customs identifies East Coast Sumatra as the main drug entry route

Jakarta – R. Syarif Hidayat, Director of Narcotics Interdiction, Directorate General of Customs (DJBC), Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia, revealed that the East Coast of Sumatra has become the main entry route for drugs into Indonesia from abroad. “Mainly methamphetamine (meth), it mostly enters via the East Coast of Sumatra,” he said at a press conference at the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) building in Jakarta on Tuesday. In addition to the East Coast of Sumatra, he disclosed that drugs also enter in large quantities from the border areas with Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia. To oversee border drug cases, he said DJBC collaborates with the BNN Provincial offices and local law enforcement. “We also cooperate with every police precinct along the border and with the border protection units (Pamtas) that are very helpful because they have troops who can guard the border and they constantly inspect the boundary markers,” he said. Not only by sea and land, drugs also enter Indonesia via air routes. Regarding drug sources, he said narcotics other than cannabis originate from abroad, while cannabis mostly originates from Aceh. Furthermore, he emphasised that DJBC remains committed to enforcing narcotics laws, despite budget limitations. “The Directorate General of Customs remains committed even with budget constraints to carrying out narcotics law enforcement as vigorously as possible,” he said.