REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Chief of the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (BNN) Commissioner General Anang Iskandar said he fully supported the execution of drug dealers in Indonesia as that will have a deterrent effect.

"We support it. To create a deterrent effect on other drug dealers, we suggest executions be held soon after trials," Anang noted.

According to him, rampant drug trafficking has put Indonesia in a state of emergency.

This was underlined by a recent police raid that seized 8,088 tons of marijuana from Aceh province and 862 kilograms of metamphetamine brought from China.

Another indicator of drug emergency in Indonesia, Anang added, has been the increasing number of drug users. According to data, in 2011, there were 4.2 million drug users in Indonesia. Of them, 1.1 million people were in the stage of addiction and needed rehabilitation.

"The number of drug users has been increasing from year to year due to limited rehab facilities in Indonesia. Drugs are smuggled into the country through various means," Anang remarked.

As of today, there are 589 hospitals, 31 police hospitals, 80 community health centers (Puskesmas), 33 mental hospitals, seven rehab facilities, and 24 prisons in the region that has rehabilitation program for drug users.

On January 18, six drug convicts were shot to death. They included a Brazilian, a Dutch, a Vietnamese, a Malawian, a Nigerian, and an Indonesian woman.

These six convicts were the first batch of people to be executed under the government of President Jokowi.

Earlier, Attorney General H. M. Prasetyo revealed that 60 prisoners convicted in major crimes are on Indonesia's death penalty list.

There are still some 50 to 60 inmates on death row in Indonesia, Prasetyo stated. Despite protests from a number of countries, Indonesia will proceed with its plan to execute these convicts, he added.

"We will not step back. We must move forward. Indonesia must be saved," he stressed.

According to the Attorney General, illicit drug-related crimes are no longer prevalent in just one country but have transformed into international syndicates.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has appealed to managers of mosques to step up public campaigns against drug abuse as the country has declared a state of drug emergency.

"I urge (mosque managers) to intensify campaigns against the abuse of drugs. We are now in a state of emergency over this crime," the President said.

The head of state further noted that Indonesia was in a state of emergency over drug abuse as the country has 4.5 million drug addicts who need rehabilitation.

Some 1.2 million drug addicts are in such dire conditions that rehabilitation is no longer an option for them. In Indonesia, as many as 50 drug addicts die every day, and 18 thousand annually.

"So, through mosques, please educate people about the dangers of drugs," he urged.

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