Lack of Supervision is the Cause of Police Abuse of Drug Seizures

Illustration of a police officer dragged into a drug abuse case. (Ist)

JAKARTA - Police researcher from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Andy Ahmad Zaelany, assessed that the involvement of police personnel in the circulation of drugs often stems from the misuse of confiscated drugs that are not closely monitored.

"Confiscated goods are often tempted to be consumed themselves or sold because they bring in large amounts of money. In addition, weak supervision, sloppy recording, and the absence of firm sanctions if confiscated goods are lost or reduced open the door to abuse," he said, Sunday, February 15.

He also highlighted the phenomenon of the police backing drug traffickers because the authority in handling cases was not accompanied by inherent supervision. Therefore, the combination of weak supervision and economic temptation makes the problem of eradicating drugs a serious challenge in the police, especially in the midst of demands for police reform.

"So that the police do not act as a backer of drug traffickers, it is necessary to have an inherent supervision and social channels that allow the public to report suspected backing in drug transactions," he added.

According to Andy, the latest drug trafficking case involving Bima City Police Chief, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Didik Putra Kuncoro has a similar pattern to the case involving the former West Sumatra Police Chief, Inspector General Teddy Minahasa in 2022, regarding the circulation of confiscated drugs.

This shows a shift in vulnerability, namely drug handling, which has so far targeted more people, now it has spread to the authorities who are authorized to eradicate drugs.

"This makes the investigation of the involvement of the police require investigative techniques combined with scientific methods to map the extent to which drug traffickers control the police," he concluded.