PALEMBANG - Head of Palembang City Police, Grand Commissioner Pol. Mokhamad Ngajib said cases of crystal methamphetamine drug abuse decreased by 25 percent, from January to March.
"We have recorded that around 25 percent of drug abuse cases have decreased over the past three months. For example, from 15 drug abusers who have been arrested by the authorities, per month there are around three perpetrators," Ngajib said in Palembang, Wednesday, March 30.
According to him, the decline in abuse cases occurred in line with the operation to eradicate drug trafficking, which was carried out by the Narcotics Investigation Unit and the South Sumatra Police, by confiscating nearly 10 kilograms of evidence of methamphetamine.
"The arrests have had an impact on reducing drug abuse cases. Starting from 5 kilograms, 2 kilograms, 1 kilogram, along with each of the dealers and suspected dealers, we managed to catch them for three months in Palembang. Finally, Saturday, March 26 there was an arrest of a suspect in possession of 1 ounce of methamphetamine," he said, as quoted by Antara.
In addition to these arrests, the decline in cases was also influenced by the establishment of the Anti-Drug Village program initiated by the Palembang Police and the Palembang City Government since 2021.
The Anti-Drug Village Program is located in areas suspected of being the center of drug trafficking in Palembang City, including Beautiful Village in Tangga Buntung, 36 Ilir Village, and Tangguh Village in 9 Ilir Village.
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"The Anti-Drug Village Program contains various community empowerment programs, so that people's habit patterns change to become more positive and productive, and stay away from drugs. That's what we get in the field," he added.
He is optimistic that such cross-agency collaboration will reduce drug abuse cases in Palembang by 50 percent in the next five years.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Palembang Harnojoyo said that the City Government and the Polrestabes of Palembang had designed various community empowerment programs to be implemented in the Anti-Drug Village, so that the community could avoid minor drug abuse activities.
The community empowerment includes providing training on the development of craft, micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM) commodities and culinary as well as counseling on the social, economic, and health impacts of drug abuse.
"We can see the positive effect. So, going forward, we plan to have at least one integrated sub-district like this, to change people's habit patterns with positive activities and stay away from drugs as a whole," he said.
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