Indonesia’s National Police confirmed about following up on the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center’s (PPATK’s) finding of illicit financial flows (IFFs) resulting from drug trafficking worth Rp120 trillion.
“We are following up on the finding. Let us wait for the outcomes of the police and PPATK’s joint investigation,” National Police spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Rusdi Hartono, noted in a statement that ANTARA quoted on Friday.
To this end, investigators from the National Police’s Narcotics Division have coordinated with their counterparts from the PPATK, he remarked, adding that they had repeatedly worked closely to uncover several cases.
The finding of the IFFs, resulting from drug trafficking, was earlier disclosed by PPATK Head Dian Ediana Rae as published on the PPATK’s official YouTube channel on October 6, 2021.
According to Rae, the illicit financial flows, totaling Rp120 trillion, were suspected of having resulted from drug trafficking operations between 2016 and 2020.
The PPATK recorded that 1,339 individuals and corporations were involved in the illicit financial flows, Rae stated.
Indonesia remains under grave threat from drug dealers, with scores from its working-age population trapped in a vicious circle of drugs.
A report from the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has revealed that around 50 drug use-related deaths occur daily in Indonesia. However, the deaths have failed to deter other drug users owing to the fact that drug trade in the country is valued at nearly Rp66 trillion.
Currently, Indonesia is battling two fronts: the spread of the novel coronavirus disease and the trafficking of drugs that continued in spite of mobility restrictions and border closures by countries fighting to curb COVID-19 transmission.
Since his first leadership term, President Joko Widodo has been reminding the nation of the serious impact of drug consumption on Indonesia.
The users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other types of addictive drugs come from different communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
Citing the result of a survey by BNN and Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Vice President Ma’ruf Amin stated that there were over 3.4 million drug users in Indonesia.
The survey has found that some 180 out of every 10 thousand Indonesians, aged between 15 and 64, were pushed into drug addiction, he noted.
Source: Antara News