Drug case numbers getting higher

Drug case numbers getting higher

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Despite the heavy prison sentences being handed down, the number
of drug cases heard by the Tangerang District Court has continued
to rise over the past seven years, a court official says.

Tangerang District Court chief Zaenal Arifin told The Jakarta
Post the number of drug cases heard by the court had steadily
increased since 1998.

"In 1998, this court tried only 20 drug cases and that number
rose to 57 in 1999," Zaenal said recently.

He said 2000 saw a significant increase in the number of drug
cases to 158. And the figure has continued to go up to 191 in
2001, 272 in 2002, 232 in 2003 and 354 in 2004.

"As law enforcers, we will never compromise with drug abusers
and we will continue to hand down harsh punishments to those
involved in the drug business," he said.

The Tangerang District Court is known for coming down hard on
defendants standing trial on drug charges. The court has
sentenced over 20 people to death for drug charges.

Suprapto, a judge who has sentenced nine drug traffickers to
death, said capital punishment only provided a deterrent to drug
traffickers.

"It seems death sentences imposed on drug traffickers have
failed to prevent young people from using drugs," he said.

Meanwhile, the number of cases of drugs being smuggled through
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport have dropped over the past
two years.

Airport customs and excise chief Nofrial told the Post the
decline might be the result of harsher punishments being given to
drug traffickers.

"In 2003 we foiled three drug smuggling attempts involving
Abdulrahman M. Aljammaz, a Saudi Arabian, Sibel Yalvac, a Dutch
woman, and Marco Archer Cordova Moreira, a Brazilian man," he
said.

There were two drug smuggling cases in 2004, involving
Brazilian Rodrigo Gulartes and Indian Gurdip Singh, both of whom
are on trial at the Tangerang District Court.

Aljammaz attempted to smuggle in 2,647 benzodiazepam pills,
while Sibel Yalvac was caught carrying 4,862 ecstasy pills from
Kuala Lumpur.

According to data from the airport's customs and excise
office, between January 2000 and December 2002 officials foiled
some 25 drug smuggling attempts, most involving heroin.

Drug cases tried at the Tangerang District Court

No Year Cases Total

Drug Use Trafficking

1 1998 13 7 20

2 1999 50 7 57

3 2000 126 32 158

4 2001 156 35 191

5 2002 225 47 272

6 2003 265 58 325

7 2004 231 123 354

Total drug cases tried 1,377

Source: Tangerang District Court