Indonesian prisons better that a ‘crack house’

Former Bali police chief Made Pastika, now the National Narcotics Agency chief, says that drugs are flowing through indonesia’s prisons, creating an atmosphere where drug dealing prevails.

Here’s more from the Jakarta Post.

National drug agency chief says prisons awash in narcotics.
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Prisons across the country have been infiltrated by drug syndicates that are preying on inmates, the head of a narcotics body said Monday.

National Narcotics Agency chief I Made Mangku Pastika said the country’s prisons were so poorly managed that the facilities were awash in illegal drugs.

“Prisons are the last places that law enforcers would look for drug deals, and as a result the use of drugs and other illegal substances is prevalent in these facilities,” Pastika told a hearing with House of Representatives Commission III for legal affairs and domestic security.

Giving an example, he said drugs circulated freely in Kerobokan penitentiary in Denpasar, Bali, where many inmates had fallen into the trap of addiction.

“Almost every inmate there displayed symptoms of withdrawal after we transferred an inmate who was a major dealer, thereby cutting off the supply,” said Pastika, a three-star general and former Bali provincial police chief.

He said the inmate in question who supplied drugs at Kerobokan was transferred to the maximum security prison on the island of Nusakambangan, off the coast of Cilacap, Central Java.

Pastika’s comments will come as no surprise to many, given the common perception that the prison system has become infested with drugs, thanks in part to the willing cooperation of some guards eager to make a quick profit.

Numerous guards have been arrested and prosecuted for their involvement in the smuggling and sale of drugs inside prisons.

During the hearing Monday, lawmakers questioned Pastika about the National Narcotics Agency’s campaign to break up drug networks operating in the country. They also raised concerns that illegal drugs were becoming more common in the country, as the networks extended their reach.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Trimedya Pandjaitan criticized the agency for not launching enough raids to arrest drug dealers and users in red-light districts.

Responding to the criticism, Pastika said the National Police had made drugs one of its top priorities, so arrest numbers were sometimes higher than might otherwise be expected.

“We see a large number of people arrested for pushing drugs. While an achievement, this can also give the impression that the drug rings are bigger than ever,” he said.

Well I never. So its not just Schapelle and the Bali Nine who are rocking the jailhouse.