T

he National Narcotics Agency (BNN) aims to secure thousands of illegal ports in Indonesia to prevent drug dealers from distributing narcotics in the country.

'€œAs an archipelagic country, we have thousands of illegal ports or what we often call jalan tikus [alternative routes],'€ BNN drug eradication division deputy chairman Brig. Gen. Dedy Fauzi Elhakim told The Jakarta Post.

He added that each province had tens of illegal ports. Aceh, for example, has about 40, while Batam 31.

'€œWe found that illegal ports are the transaction hubs for drug deals,'€ Dedy said.

One major case involved a Chinese drug dealer who smuggled 862 kilograms of methamphetamine to Indonesia from an illegal port in Dadap, Kosambi subdistrict, Tangerang, in January 2015.

The meth, worth Rp 1.7 trillion, was transported from one ship to another while at sea. The receiving ship then resumed its trip and docked in Dadap.

At the port, the drugs were transferred to a car and then transported to Kalideres, West Jakarta.

Last year, the agency also arrested two foreigners as they attempted to smuggle 40.1 kg of meth through Sukabumi waters. They hid the drugs at a location in the Tangkuban Perahu conservation area in Pelabuhan Ratu district, West Java.

Besides focusing on illegal ports, the agency will zero in on legal ports. Indonesia is home to around 39 legal ports, which are also doors for drug smuggling.

To improve security, the BNN cooperate with the Indonesian Navy to bust the smugglers.

Dedy said the Navy would be able to stop ships carrying drugs before they docked at illegal ports.

'€œThe Navy has the capability to patrol near the Economic Exclusive Zone [EEZ]. When they find the smugglers, the military can take the smugglers to our nearest interdiction team at the port for further investigation,'€ Dedy added.

He said that the BNN and the Navy had been working together for a quite some time.

'€œThe military is also part of our interdiction team,'€ Dedy said.

The BNN'€™s interdiction team is tasked with securing Indonesian borders, ports and airports from narcotics penetration. The agency currently has six interdiction task forces stationed in Jakarta, Medan (North Sumatra), Manado (North Sulawesi) and on the islands of Bitung (North Sulawesi), Batam (Riau Island) and Bali.

The interdiction team aims to cut drug syndicate networks, arrest drug dealers and traffickers and confiscate trafficked drugs. The team comprises a number of members from the BNN, the Customs and Excise Office, the military, the police, airport and port operators and any relevant institution.

Meanwhile, the Navy'€™s law section head, Vice Admiral Putu Wijamahadi, acknowledged that a weapons system limitation had been an obstacle for the Navy in its efforts to secure Indonesian waters from drug syndicates.

'€œWe lack a weapons system. We only have 60 patrol boats,'€ he said on Tuesday.