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Ministry to provide drug testing facilities in prisons
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Police escort drug smuggling supects during a press conference at the National Monument in Central Jakarta on Dec. 6, 2016. (JP/Seto Wardhana.)
T
he Law and Human Rights Ministry aims to provide drug testing equipment in all penitentiaries and detention centers to prevent drug smuggling inside of prison, Minister Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly said.
The Directorate General of Correction in the Ministry has started the program, he said, but it is not yet evenly spread out in prisons across the country, he said on Monday.
He would push for the drug testing facilities to be provided soon following rampant drug dealing and smuggling among inmates, some even with the help of prison officials.
Seven prison officers of Surabaya detention center in East Java were arrested for allegedly being involved in drug trafficking for inmates.
"We have withdrawn them from the East Java Office and the Ministry is handling the case to be legally processed in Jakarta," he said as reported by Antaranews.com, adding that the Ministry would also impose sanctions on the officers depending on the level of their misconduct.
"We will study their [alleged] violations. There could be some who have their official level degraded and some who might be dismissed," Yasonna said.
According to the Ministry's data, around 70 percent of inmates detained in prisons across the country are drug offense convicts.
Besides finding drugs in random raids, the ministry and police have also revealed major drug trafficking controlled behind bars by drug convicts. (dis/rin)
