Drugs may 'destroy Indonesia's youth', says top general in slap at China gangs
Amid surge in narcotics smuggling, much of it via Hong Kong, Indonesian army chief warns of international conspiracy to sap nation's vitality
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 19 October, 2014, 5:45am
UPDATED : Sunday, 19 October, 2014, 5:45am
Bryan Harris [email protected]
Some of the 362kg of methamphetamine that was seized in raids in Indonesia between May and June this year. Photo: Reuters
A surge in international drug smuggling - mostly originating in China and shipped through Hong Kong - could "destroy" Indonesia's youth, one of the country's most senior military officers has warned.
General Gatot Nurmantyo, chief of staff of the Indonesian army, admits authorities are having problems fighting the drug trade. Photo: AFP
General Gatot Nurmantyo, chief of staff of the Indonesian army, told university students last week that crime syndicates were using drugs as part of an "international conspiracy" to "destroy the Indonesian younger generation, so that the nation would be deprived of a high-quality generation in the future".
With porous borders and increasing drug use, the world's fourth most populous nation has long been an attractive and lucrative market for Hong Kong's triads and mainland Chinese syndicates.
Much of the methamphetamine found in Indonesia originates in Guangdong, where it is manufactured before being shipped via Hong Kong, according to police and United Nations reports.
In May, Indonesian authorities announced plans to step up monitoring of flights from China, including Hong Kong, in the wake of a "significant" increase in drug-trafficking cases this year.
Hong Kong's triads have targeted Indonesian migrant workers to smuggle methamphetamine out of the city, the Sunday Morning Post reported earlier this year.
"Through an international conspiracy, Indonesia's younger generation could be destroyed by using no weapons," Gatot said last week according to state news agency Antara. "The authorities are still facing difficulties in trying to … fight drug problems."
There has been a spate of Hongkongers arrested in Indonesia for trafficking methamphetamines in recent months, including a 17-year-old who in June became the youngest person ever caught smuggling drugs through Jakarta's international airport.
Late last month, police there seized a 71kg consignment of crystal meth from China valued at more than HK$90 million.
Two mainland Chinese, a Hongkonger and an Indonesian were arrested in connection with the seizure following a four-month police operation and could now face the death penalty.
Also known as Ice, methamphetamine has exploded in popularity in recent years, especially in Asia, where the existence of crime syndicates, raw materials and a ready market has created perfect conditions for a rise in use of methamphetamines.
According to Indonesia's National Anti-Narcotics Agency, the number of illicit drug users in the country is set to reach nearly 3 per cent of the population - or five million people - by next year, up from 1.5 per cent in 2005.
Hong Kong is also facing an unprecedented surge in the drug's popularity, although authorities continue to maintain that the city is not a hub or a transit point for the drug. In the first seven months of this year, police and customs seized 202kg of methamphetamines - a 104 per cent increase from the same period last year.
