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.