REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BEIJING -- As many as 52 Indonesian nationals have been detained in China in connection with cases related to the smuggling and use of narcotic drugs.
In a statement received by Antara here on Wednesday, the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing said that seven Indonesians were being held in Beijing, while one was awaiting a judicial process.
The 45 others are being held in Guangzhou in Guangdong province, the statement reported.
"They include 28 women and 17 men, with most of them involved as narcotic drug couriers. They are still relatively young," Indonesian Consul General in Guangzhou Ratu Silvy Gayatri stated.
Moreover, Indonesian Ambassador to China and Mongolia Soegeng Rahardjo affirmed that he had always appealed to Indonesian citizens in China to not be involved in narcotics crimes.
"Generally, they are involved as couriers. It is a matter of grave concern," he remarked.
According to the Chinese National Narcotics Control (NNCC), 1,732 foreigners were held for their involvement in narcotics crimes in 2014.
"Law enforcement authorities were able to settle 1,479 narcotics smuggling cases involving foreign citizens in 2014. We also held 1,832 foreigners, including 44 from West African, South American and Southeast Asian countries," NNCC Deputy Commissioner Liu Yejin noted at a press conference.
Furthermore, members of an African narcotics gang who have stayed in Guangdong for long are used by narcotics groups from Pakistan and other nations to recruit couriers from various countries.
In 2014, the Chinese government received 204 verification notices from 34 countries and 25 similar letters from 25 provinces in China with regard to the smuggling of drugs from and into China.
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