REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MALANG -- Illicit drug abuse has caused damages and losses worth Rp60 trillion annually in Indonesia, according to Chief of the National Police General Badrodin Haiti.

Immaterial losses and damages caused by illicit drug abuse amounted to Rp60 trillion per year, Haiti reported here, recently.

The losses were calculated based on the funds required to conduct rehabilitation programs and provide medications for drug addicts in addition to the money spent by the addicts to buy drugs.

The most serious threats being faced by Indonesia are radicalism and drug abuse that have poisoned several young men.

"This condition will reduce the competitiveness of Indonesia's human resources in the long term, and of course, it will affect the nation," he emphasized.

Some 4.1 Indonesians, or 2.2 percent of the country's population, are drug users. Around 40-45 Indonesians die daily as a result of drug addiction.

Concerning radicalism that could trigger terrorism, General Haiti affirmed that some 350 Indonesians have joined the radical group, the Islamic State (IS/ISIS). Of the total, 50 have died, 30 have returned to Indonesia, and the rest are still in Syria.

Recently, seven Indonesians were deported from Turkey while attempting to cross the border to enter Syria.

He, however, believes that some 500-750 Indonesians are suspected to have joined IS.

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