Jogja: From Center of Education to International Drugs Market?

Liputan6.com, Jakarta Widespread of elicit drugs distribution in Indonesia is becoming more rampant than ever with areas of detected circulation expanding to ‘innocent’ region. That ‘innocent’ region is Yogyakarta, a seemingly conservative province situated at the heart of Java island and the home to students with profound passion on education, art and culture.

Despite inevitability of dealers and users presence even in region that is seen to be remotely safe from such potent influence, it came as a shock to many following reports of rising numbers in drugs- related undertakings within that culturally- nurtured province. The National Narcotics Agency in Yogyakarta (BNN DIY) has successfully conducted intervention on smuggling attempts directed in and out of the province and captured scores of those who were involved in the venture.

The Head of BNN DIY, Soetarmono shares how he is saddened by the alarming fact that the used-to-be culturally- attractive city now has transformed into a layover zone for smugglers to transit in and out the drugs they sought to distribute. Worst yet, as time progresses the city plays an even more pretentious role of being the market for drugs at international scale with networks enlarged to globally infamous ones in other parts of the world.

“Yogyakarta is not the city we used to know, it has now turned into a destination for users, dealers, smugglers, distributers and couriers of drugs. Economically speaking, there is an equally high supply and demand and so it is unquestionable that the city’s fame similarly boosted, but this time in a pejorative sense,”Soetarmono posited on Monday 2 November 2015.

Soetarmono resorted to the research conducted by the University of Indonesia (UI) which vividly and precisely presented exact estimation of continually proliferating drugs- related cases in the area on an annual basis.

It has been recorded that in 2008, the number of drugs users in Yogyakarta reached 68,981 and the following four years were incredibly critical with numbers skyrocketing to 83,952 in 2011. A drastic and relieving yet still stressing decline occurred in 2014 with records excitedly showing the dropping number to 62,028 people.

To maintain the desired decreasing culture of numbers on drugs traffickers, Soetarmono assures that his department will exert all its effort and forces to halt any smuggling attempt being performed with specific operations designed to tackle this matter followed by the deployment of competent officers in areas seen as susceptible. As for users, Soetarmono said that he will be making furtherance of President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo’s ambitious goal of rehabilitating as many affected individuals as possible to prevent them from using it ever again. Continuous socialization through friendly reminders regarding the danger of using drugs is highly necessitated in this case.

“In 2008, we are second to Jakarta in terms of the rate on drugs-undertakings. Not something to be proud about obviously,” he stated.

Soetarmono examines drugs related cases as an epidemic that needs to be prevented and eradicated with the help of drugs- free population from the region. This means family, friends, acquaintance, and everyone else are encouraged to participate in the hindering gesture of preventing drugs from dominating the region. They can do so by reporting or submitting claims of any suspicious undertakings related to drugs directly to the local authority.

“In accordance to President Jokowi’s instruction on drugs- related cases for this year alone, he has requested for addicts to be put into rehabilitation center with targets in Yogyakarta amounting to 1939 but only 800 ish have been successfully detected and taken into the morally- helpful site,” he concluded. (Akp/Ein)