RI Suffers Lost US$5.6 Bln Due To Narcotic circulation In 2012

Medan, North Sumatra, May 27 (Antara) - Indonesia sustained a material loss of US$5.6 billion last year due to illegal narcotic circulation in the country, the National Anti-Narcotics Agency`s (BNN) Information Director Gun Gun Siswandi said here on Monday. "Drug circulation in the country contribute to the increasing number of criminality while decreasing productivity. Not to mention the government has to provide a lot of money for rehabilitation of drug users," he said. Meanwhile, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) program coordinator Tun Nay Soe warns Indonesia of a possible increase in the use of ATS drugs in the country. "The large licit requirements of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine for industrial purpose in Indonesia heighten the risk that these substances may be wrongfully used for production of ATS," he said. He made it clear that more drug traffickers are interested in producing ATS since it can be manufactured everywhere (in small apartment or housing complex) and they only need to mix it with chemicals. The estimated market value of ATS in Indonesia is also promising. With the average market street price of around Rp1.3 million (YS$145) per gram, the Crystalline Metamphetamine trade in Indonesia generated an estimated Rp16 trillion (US$1.8 billion) in revenues in 2011.