Commission XIII DPR suspects there is a big problem behind 4 cases of drug smuggling in Jakarta

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission XIII of the DPR Andreas Pareira suspects that there are big actors behind four cases of attempted drug smuggling to the Jakarta Penitentiary (Lapas) and Detention House (Rutan).

"If from within the prison and detention center alone can control the drug syndicate, it means this is a big boss," Andreas Pareira told reporters, Thursday, June 18.

Andreas also questioned the possibility of a supervisory gap so that there are still many perpetrators who try to smuggle drugs into prisons and detention centers, which are usually marketed behind bars.

"What is this with prisons and detention centers? Drug trafficking in prisons is a recurring event, which means that there is no seriousness in prisons to monitor drug trafficking," he said.

Andreas assessed that the penitentiary system that only followed the 'detention' approach caused criminal acts to still occur in prisons or detention centers. He also assessed that the discovery of a syndicate controlled by inmates showed that the challenge of penitentiaries was no longer limited to physical security.

"The discovery of a drug syndicate that can still be controlled by inmates and the repeated attempts to smuggle drugs into prisons and detention centers show that the current challenges of the correctional system have evolved far beyond conventional security issues," said Andreas.

On the other hand, Andreas said that the success of officers in thwarting drug smuggling efforts indeed showed that the surveillance mechanism was still working. At the same time, however, he said, the fact that a prisoner can still control the activities of the narcotics network outside the prison / detention center shows that there are more fundamental problems.

"That is, how to ensure that the process of sentencing through imprisonment really disrupts the capacity of the perpetrator to continue to commit crimes," added the legislator from the NTT I District.

The head of the Commission in the DPR who deals with corrections said the increasingly complex modus operandi also shows that the narcotics organization continues to adapt to the existing surveillance system. For this reason, Andreas encourages a more comprehensive reform of the corrections system.

"Reform of the penitentiary system needs to be directed not only at the development of physical facilities, but also at strengthening the intelligence system of the penitentiary system. Including monitoring communication and management of high-risk inmates, as well as data integration with law enforcement," concluded Andreas.

As is known, four attempts to smuggle drugs to the Jakarta Narcotics Prison and the Jakarta Central Salemba Prison were successfully thwarted by officers. These four smuggling cases occurred in one day, namely on Monday, June 15.

Meanwhile, two cases were revealed by the Jakarta Narcotics Prison officers through a strict examination at the Main Security Gate (P2U) where packages containing narcotics were to be smuggled by the perpetrators disguised as visitors by hiding in the intimate organs to deceive the officers.

On the same day, Salemba detention officers also thwarted two attempts to smuggle drugs with different methods. The first method involved a female visitor who smuggled Etomidate by disguising it in a cough medicine bottle.

Then the second modus is narcotics of the type of methamphetamine which will be smuggled by being neatly hidden in the hair of a female visitor. In this regard, Andreas appreciated the prison and prison officers who managed to thwart 4 attempts to smuggle drugs.