Importing drugs illegally

Importing drugs illegally

From Suara Karya

The Drug and Food Control Agency (POM) of the Indonesian
Ministry of Health is the only institution that has the authority
to issue permits for the importation of drugs or psychotropic
substances, pursuant to Law No. 22/1997 and Law No 5/1997.

However, if the authority for issuing such permits is abused,
drug trafficking will become widespread in this country.
Therefore, it is time for the government to create a system to
monitor, evaluate and minimize any violations with regard to
drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as impose sanctions on
businesses found to have broken the law.

POM should cooperate with the National Narcotics Agency to
supervise intensively the import of drugs through customs or
smuggling.

Although the head of POM, Suparman, said imported drugs and
psychotropic substances were used for health and scientific
purposes, people are afraid that the authorities will "collude
in" the illegal importation of drugs and other substances.

VALERY E. SETIAWAN, Bengkulu