Indonesia To Propose Stronger Maritime Interdiction To Cut Drug Traffic

Hong Kong (Antara Bali) - The National Narcotic Agency (BNN) will propose cooperation to strengthen maritime interdiction to cut   drug trafficking networks in the four-day meeting of Asean senior officials  on drugs (ASOD) opening in Singapore on Monday.

"This is important as most Asean countries are bordered on seas," BNN chief Anang Iskandar told Antara news agency here before leaving for Singapore on Sunday night.

Anang said drug trafficking is made mainly through sea routes. Indonesia share sea borders with most of other Asean member countries.

"Strategic position of Indonesia provides a strategic route for illegal drug trafficking," Anang said.

He said Indonesia has become a major target of international drug syndicates  in smuggling illicit drugs  notably amphetamine type stimulants (ATS), ecstasy  and methamphetamine crystals.

"Almost 40 percent of cases of drug abuses in Asean are in Indonesia. Currently there are around 4.2 million drug users in  Indonesia," he said.

Stronger cooperation among Asean countries is needed to fight the illicit trade, he said.  
Two years ago Asean agreed in the  3rd Meeting of ASEAN Airport Interdiction Task Force (AAITF) to establish cooperation networks in the region  in interdiction, especially airports interdiction, in a bid to cut narcotics smuggling toward "Narcotics Free Aseean in 2015."

"At the same time Indonesia is set to maximize Interdiction Task Force , which has shown good progress in unveiling and uprooting major  illegal drug trafficking," Anang said.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian authorities nabbed three Malaysians on charge of seeking to smuggle marijuana into North Kalimantan.

The three were arrested upon arrival  from Tawau, Malaysia, at the port of Sei Nyamuk of Pulau Sebatik in the regency of Nunukan on Sunday.

They were found to be in possession of marijuana, police first inspector Oman said in Nunukan.

"The three, believed to be Malaysians , had no passport when they entered the Indonesian territory on the island of Sebatik," Oman said.

The three gave their identifications as  Moch Mazlan (31), a civil servant at the  Marine Department Malaysia,  Mohd Fauzy bin Mantah (27) a trader and Mohd Azmeerruddin (23), an oil palm plantation company employee , -- all from , both from Taman Sejati Sandakan, Malaysia.

They told their investigators that they were on their way to Tarakan, North Kalimantan. They said tyhat the marijuana was for their own consumption and their friends in Tarakan. (WDY)