Narcotics abuse eradication in Indonesia has become more difficult with the incoming of new types of drugs. Eradicating old types of narcotics is already difficult.
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BOGOR, KOMPAS – Narcotics abuse eradication in Indonesia has become more difficult with the incoming of new types of drugs. Eradicating old types of narcotics is already difficult because of varying forms and modes of distribution of drugs. This means added pressure for the country’s drug law enforcement officials.
Data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that 739 new psychoactive substances (NPS) were found in circulation between 2009 and 2016. The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) had found 68 of these substances in circulation in Indonesia by late 2017.
Eight of these 68 substances – the names of which are not published – are yet to be named as narcotics in line with the Health Ministry’s Regulation No 41/2007 on changes in narcotics categorization.
“For these new substances, it is only when we find traces of them in drug users that we can find out what they are,” BNN chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso said after opening the Narcotics Laboratory Center in Lido, Bogor, West Java, on Thursday.
Tracing new drug substances is not easy due to inadequate laboratory equipment. Some lab tests are still done manually and many iterations are often needed to eliminate doubts.
It sometimes takes between four and eight days for a lab test to find traces of chemical ingredients in a sample. This is the motivation behind the establishment of an international-standard national lab in Lido.
With sophisticated and computerized equipment, Budi said that the lab could complete lab tests within one day. NPS detection in Indonesia could be faster.
Among the the most sophisticated equipment at the Narcotics Laboratory Center is a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) device to identify narcotics samples.
Faster detection of NPS is necessary as new types of narcotics are more destructive than crystal meth, ecstasy pills and marijuana. “Flakka is more dangerous than crystal meth and ecstasy pills. Gorilla tobacco is more dangerous than marijuana,” Budi said.
Getting harder
Amid the wave of NPS, the threat of old-school narcotics still looms large. Their increasing variety forms and distribution methods makes it even more difficult for law enforcement officials to eradicate them. “Tackling NPS and old-style narcotics are similarly difficult. Drug networks that distribute ecstasy pills or crystal meth, for example, often change their distribution methods,” Budi said.
He cited that meth nowadays existed not only in crystal form but also as a liquid, such as the that produced by MG discotheque in West Jakarta. Ecstasy exists not only in pill form but also as thin layers.
More drug production centers also spells more trouble for law enforcement officials. China used to be known as the major source of methamphetamine arriving in Indonesia. Now, however, drug dealers also obtain the substance from Myanmar.
“Myanmar used to send only the ingredients and not the finished product. Now, networks tend to want to self-manage, thus creating competition,” Budi said.
On Thursday, Ahmad Yani Airport customs officers in Semarang thwarted an attempt to smuggle 538 grams of methamphetamine by EW, 41, from Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra. EW reportedly hid the meth in her vital organ and covered it with a sanitary napkin.
In Bali, Ngurah Rai Airport Customs handed over two foreigners with drugs, identified as Briton ASH, 48, and German SKAR, 55, to the Bali Police. ASH was apprehended as he arrived from Bangkok.