Insp. Gen. Ahmad Lutfi, the regional police chief, said on Monday that a total of 1,576 alleged drug couriers had been arrested in the past seven months.

A total of 281 people arrested were alleged dealers and 54 alleged users. The arrests were made during investigations into a total of 1,293 cases in the same time span.

The alleged dealers and mules are charged with illegal drug distribution, which carries a maximum sentence of 15-year imprisonment and a Rp 1 billion (US$67,348) fine. Illegal drug users face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of Rp 100 million.

“We will also charge the dealers with money laundering crimes. We put forward restorative justice for the drug users, for them to be rehabilitated according to existing regulation,” Ahmad said.

The 2009 Narcotics Law permits judges to sentence drug users and victims of drug abuse to rehabilitation rather than imprisonment, but the option is rarely used, while the police and prosecutors often mistakenly classify drug addicts as drug dealers or traffickers.

More than 135,000 inmates are behind bars because of drug-related crimes, accounting for almost half of the nationwide prison population. 

A total of 679 correctional facilities across the country hold more than 278,000 inmates, almost double the maximum capacity of around 132,000 inmates, according to Law and Human Rights Ministry data.

Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a new law on the country's correctional system with the hopes of ending prison overcrowding. The House of Representatives amended the outdated 1995 Correctional Facilities Law in a plenary session in July to help address the poor management of prisons and their insufficient facilities and human resources. 

Activists, however, remain unconvinced, saying the legislation did not solve the underlying problem of the excessive incarceration of drug offenders, who have long dominated the inmate population. (dre)