Drug smuggling cases on the rise: Official

Drug smuggling cases have been on a yearly rise, according to the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, with 143 such cases in 2011 and 53 in the first four months of 2012 alone.

Assuming a similar number of smuggling cases every four months, Customs Directorate General official Agung Kuswandono said that there would be more cases this year than there were in 2011.

A recent case, involving a Jakartan, identified only as SSS, who smuggled around 10 kilograms of heroin from Malaysia, points to a rising trend.

The 38-year-old was arrested at Polonia International Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, on Sunday, after she had flown in from Kuala Lumpur.

National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief Benny Josua Mamoto, considered it strange that someone would try to smuggle that amount of drugs in one go.

"Could there possibly be increasing demand for drugs? We'll look into it," Benny said, as quoted by kompas.com.

A recent police report showed that drug-smuggling attempts through airports alone have increased, with officers foiling about 50 such attempts in 2011, up from 38 cases in 2010.

The Jakarta Community Care Foundation (Kelima), a non-governmental organization, recently said that there were five million consumers of illegal drugs in Indonesia in 2012. (png/swd)