REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Foreign drugs smugglers find a safe haven Indonesian sea. The syndicates take the advantage of some gaps in the sea. They supply the drugs through small port, especially in Sumatra. According to the data in United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 90 percent of drugs smuggling happens in sea.

"This is what happens in Indonesia," The Deputy of Eradication of Drugs Trafficking in National Narcotics Agency (BNN), Benny Jozua Mamoto, said on Monday.

Indonesia, he continued, had at least 17,000 islands with 95,181 kilometers of coastal line. With the long line, Indonesia only has 250 official ports with maximum security.

"Drug dealers and syndicate use this situation," he said.

One of the most prone regions to drugs smuggling was the east coast of Sumatra, the Narcotics Director of the National Police Crime Investigation Department, Arman Depari, said. The coastal line from Aceh to Lampung becomes a place for transaction. Then, the drugs packages are delivered to Riau Archipelago then continued to Kalimantan.

The drugs enter Jakarta through trade. The syndicate uses the role of importer to smuggle the drugs. This was what happened last week in Tanjung Priok Port, Depari said.

The Deputy of Narcotics Director of the National Police Crime Investigation Department, Anjan Pramuka Putra, added that the Kalimantan Sea was also prone to drugs smuggling as it connected Malaysia and the Philippines.

Bali, he said, was one of drugs destination. It is also near Australia. Indonesian National Police Headquarter has cooperated with Australia and Malaysia to strengthen the security in the sea.

Navy spokesman Comr. Untung Suropati denied the allegation of weak control in the sea. He said that Polaruid, BNN, and Directorate General of Customs have signed the memorandum of understanding to conduct joint patrol concentrated in the borders of Singapore and Malaysia, such as Philips Strait and Singapore. Navy, he continued, also urged all its members not to involve in drugs smuggling.

Meanwhile, the forensic psychologist, Reza Indragiri Amriel, said that drugs were complicated crime. With big profits, the syndicate often tempts the officials to guard the drugs business. "Do not let the officials protect the drugs dealer. This is a problem of integrity," he said.

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