Dial 2206 to report on illegal drugs

Dial 2206 to report on illegal drugs

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Have you noticed drug transactions in your neighborhood, but
don't know what to do about it?

Now the public can tip off the Jakarta Provincial Narcotics
Body (BNP) by sending text messages to 2206.

BNP Jakarta chairman Fauzi Bowo told The Jakarta Post on
Friday that the line had been operational since Wednesday, but
the launching was overshadowed by the city's 478th anniversary.

"The community can use the line for asking any kind of
assistance from BNP Jakarta related to drug abuse and drug
trafficking," Fauzi, who is also Jakarta Deputy Governor, said.

"Hopefully, we will be able to upgrade the line to become a
call center in the near future so that we can better respond to
input or tip-offs from the public," said the chairman of Jakarta
chapter of Nahdlatul Ulama, one of the largest Muslim
organizations in the country.

In a development related to drug abuse and drug trafficking in
the capital, Fauzi also said BNP Jakarta would pass more power on
to district administrations across the capital, as new measures
to more effectively combat drug problems.

"It is the people at the district level who know best about
drug-related problems in their respective communities, not police
or officials in the provincial administration. Unfortunately,
they have virtually no power as they have no money to run their
programs," he said.

The administration will select 10 out of the 44 districts in
the capital to receive more funds for anti-drug programs in their
communities, he said, which would be chaired by the district
heads with police precinct chiefs as deputies.

Among the selected districts are Tanah Abang and Kemayoran in
Central Jakarta, and Kalideres and Cengkareng in West Jakarta,
where drug abuse and drug trafficking has become a major concern.

The administration has earmarked a total of Rp 7.5 billion to
fund anti-drug programs this year.

National data shows that there are at least 10,000 injecting
drug users in Jakarta who face a high risk of contracting Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) through sharing needles. An official
report as of Dec. 31 also shows that the capital has the highest
recorded number of people living with HIV/AIDS at 2,505, or 45
percent of the total 5,540 cases nationwide.