BNN Receives Rp970 Bln To Fight Illegal Drugs

Denpasar (Antara Bali) - The National Narcotics Board (BNN) has received a budget allocation amounting to Rp970 billion from the government in 2012 to fight drug abuse.

"We have received around Rp970 billion in funds this year. It's quite a drastic increase compared to Rp270 billion last year," BNN Chief Gories Mere said when inaugurating the BNN's Bali chapter, here on Friday.

Last year's budget allocation was smaller because it was used for the BNN headquarters only. This year, the funds were also allocated to BNN's regional chapters in 33 provinces and 527 districts/cities.

"The funds are needed to support our work in eradicating narcotics, including the salaries of our personnel, and to buy equipment," he said.

BNN is developing its facilities and infrastructure, therefore, it needs larger funds in the future, he stated.

"We have many more things to develop, including the recruitment of more personnel," he added.

Last year, the BNN declared its goal to free Indonesia from illegal drugs by 2015.

The number of drug users in the country has now reached 5 million. Based on a BNN survey, narcotic abuse continued to increase and in 2009 the number of narcotic addicts between the ages of 10 to 59 accounted for 1.99 per cent of the country's population of around 3.6 million.(*/T007)