MP Urges Drug Crackdown from Source to Distribution
Jakarta (ANTARA) – Commission III member of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) Habib Aboe Bakar Al-Habsyi has stressed that the fight against narcotics must cover the entire chain, from source to distribution, as the crime is considered exceptionally serious.
In a statement in Jakarta on Wednesday, Habib said efforts to tackle narcotics could not focus solely on the supply side; they must also dismantle the suppliers and distribution networks behind the circulation of illegal substances.
“Narcotics crime never stands still. It learns, disguises itself and changes its form,” he said.
He said narcotics could be distributed using a range of products and methods. Electronic cigarettes, or vapes, were not the only means available to narcotics networks, he said, as drugs could be consumed through different products or under different guises; vapes were just one product being misused.
Habib cited the disclosure on 6 January 2026 of an international network by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), Customs and Excise, and the Directorate General of Immigration. The network had concealed narcotics in energy drink packaging.
For that reason, Habib said, the narcotics crackdown must extend from source to distribution. It is not enough to target the supply side; authorities must also dismantle the suppliers and distribution networks behind the circulation of illegal substances.
He said stronger coordination between agencies was needed because narcotics distribution through various means could involve multiple routes, including airports, ports, warehouses, shops, online platforms and home-based factories.
The BNN, the National Police, Customs and Excise, Immigration, the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), the Ministry of Health and other law enforcement bodies should strengthen oversight within their respective mandates, he said.
Habib also called for law enforcement to be targeted and proportionate. Policy success, he said, should not be measured merely by the imposition of bans, but by the state’s effectiveness in protecting the public and dismantling narcotics networks.
Meanwhile, BNN Secretary-General Inspector General of Police Asep Saepudin said oversight and action against vape misuse should not stop at products found to contain illegal substances.
Authorities needed to trace the entire distribution chain, from supply sources and distribution patterns to those profiting and the networks organising the trade, so that narcotics could be tackled from source to distribution.
Public education, particularly for young people, should also be strengthened through families, schools and communities of vape users.
This would allow prevention efforts to begin before people become victims of product misuse.