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ollowing increasing levels of drug trafficking in Indonesia by Iranian organized criminal groups, the government is planning to get tough with the perpetrators by considering revoking the visa-on-arrival (VOA) facility for Iranian citizens.

Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana said on Monday that his ministry would review the VOA following indications it had been misused by Iranian drug dealers and couriers to easily enter the archipelago.

“There is a possibility that we will revoke the facility. We’re going to review it based on input from various agencies, including the National Narcotics Agency [BNN],” said Denny.

“I cannot confirm when a decision will be taken, but there’s an indication of misuse here and we need to get tough on that,” he said.

The ministry oversees the directorate general of immigration, which has the authority to grant and issue the VOA, which was first introduced in 2004.

Under the facility, which is now enjoyed by more than 70 countries, foreign visitors do not have to apply abroad for visas but can process them at Indonesia’s international airports and seaports within a few hours of their arrival.

Last year, 18,578 Iranian nationals entered Indonesia, of which 17,543 used the VOA, according to immigration office figures.

An official with the immigration office said the plan to revoke the VOA for Iranian citizens had been discussed since last year by a so-called “clearing house” team that consisted of the police, the military, the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the Foreign Ministry and the BNN.

“The BNN has encouraged the ministry to revoke the VOA as soon as possible. But the Foreign Ministry is opposing the proposal due to political reasons,” the official said.

BNN spokesman Sr. Comr. Sumirat Dwi Yanto said Iran accounted for the largest number of drugs in the country, followed by Malaysia and China, in terms of the amount of drugs confiscated.

“It depends on the trends. Previously, many drug dealers arrived from West African nations where there’s a huge demand for heroin. But now, since the trend here favors methamphetamine, Iran is becoming more prominent,” said Sumirat.

“The price of methamphetamine [known locally as sabu-sabu] here in Indonesia is 10 times more than in Iran,” he said.

Based on BNN data, the agency arrested 158 suspected drug dealers last year, of whom only 5 percent were foreign nationals.

“But that 5 percent, who were primarily Iranian citizens, distributed more drugs than locally based dealers,” said Sumirat.

The BNN and the Law and Human Rights Ministry busted a drug syndicate, which was allegedly run by an Iranian national named Jafat from his cell in Tangerang Penitentiary in Banten on March 8.

Jafat’s syndicate was raided following leads from his Iranian accomplice, who was trying to sell 3 kilograms of sabu-sabu.

According to the United Nations’ International Narcotics Control Board, there were serious concerns over the increasing level of drug trafficking through East and Southeast Asia by West African and Iranian organized crime syndicates.

“Those criminal groups established trafficking networks in Southeast Asia and tended to use drug couriers from Ghana, Nepal, Nigeria, the Philippines and Thailand,” the board stated in a report issued on Feb. 28.

Iranian Embassy spokesman Ali Pahlevani Rad said he could not respond to the Indonesian plan to revoke the VOA, or to the report that pinpointed Iran as providing the largest amount of drugs in Indonesia. “We have no knowledge of the issues involved,” he said.

Additional reporting by Rendi A. Witular