Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has expressed concern over Malaysias inability and lack of commitment to fight narcotic drugs in the ASEAN region, citing frequent narcotic drugs smuggling from that country to Indonesia.

The deputy for enforcement of Indonesias Anti-Narcotic Agency (BNN) Police Inspector General Arman Depari said the BNN had already complained to that countrys government about the flood of narcotic drugs from that country to Indonesia on many occasions.

"My conclusion is that their officers might not be capable enough or committed to fighting narcotic abuse, along with other ASEAN member countries. This is my note," he said here, Friday, when exposing the uncovering of the smuggling of 25 kilogram methamphetamine and 25,000 ecstasy pills in Riau.

Arman Depari said the case involved an international network, as the evidence originated from Malaysia, before the suspects involved, who had taken the drugs into Indonesia through Aceh and North Sumatra, were arrested in Riau.

He remarked that he believed the network crossed the Strait of Malacca from Malaysia, because no surveillance was present there, as it was on international waters, and there they transhipped the drugs.

"A ship sailed from there to a certain coordinate, and another ship moved from here to the same coordinate, before they transferred the items in the sea. That is the modus operandi," he noted.

As a result, the narcotic drugs from Malaysia have flooded Indonesia through Kalimantan and Sumatra, he stressed.

He explained that the drugs looked the same but had been packed differently from those that had been confiscated so far in the smuggling cases of one ton, 300kg and 174kg of methamphetamine that looked like tea powder.

He affirmed that the BNN had increased surveillance by involving other agencies, including the police and customs agencies, especially in Sumatras eastern waters, which are open and so prone to being used by smugglers.

"We will not allow it to happen. We have now established Seaport Interdiction and taken preventive measures at ports and coastal areas in remote and outermost islands," he revealed.

The BNN had discovered 25kg and 25 ecstasy pills during a raid in the subdistrict of Kandis, Siak, in the Sumatran province of Riau, and shot one of the suspects.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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