Insp. Gen. Benny Joshua Mamoto.(Tempo/Dian Triyuli Handoko)

Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama has called on the City Police and the National Narcotics Agency (BBN) to handle the drug trafficking problem in the Thousand Islands regency, which is reportedly a way station for narcotics before they arrive in Jakarta.

'€œIt is a job for the BNN and the police. They have to capture the drug dealers there,'€ Ahok said at Jakarta City Hall on Friday.

On Thursday, former BNN official Insp. Gen. Benny Joshua Mamoto said that islands in Thousand Islands regency had long been a narcotics hub. He said that the islands were places to transit before trafficking drugs to Jakarta.

According to Benny, the narcotics were unloaded from big ships and taken to unoccupied isles. Benny said there were 342 islands in Thousand Islands regency, only 11 of which are occupied and 45 of which are being developed into tourist areas.

Ahok said that apart from preventing drugs from entering the capital city through Thousand Islands regency, hunting drug dealers in the capital city was no less important, because the targets of the drug traffickers were in the city.

He added that the draft bylaw on tourism, which prevents the spread of narcotics in the capital, was expected to provide law enforcers with more authority to limit space for drug circulation in the city.

The City Council is deliberating this bylaw, which will attempt to limit the operational hours of discotheques.

Ahok did not agree with the bylaw. But the governor proposed a regulation that would require evening entertainment managers to free their business venues from narcotics distribution.

'€œNarcotic consumption should be stopped. We have to regulate night clubs and other entertainment centers. They will be closed if we find drugs being used there more than once,'€ Ahok said. (bbn) (+)

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