Indonesia to force-feed dealers 
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Indonesia to force-feed dealers 
with drugs?

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Indonesia is getting tougher in its fight against drugs.

The Indonesian National Narcotics Agency has proposed a controversial plan to force-feed drug dealers with their own narcotics till they die.

"We need to be serious because drugs are the enemy," Al-Jazeera quoted agency spokesman Slamet Pribadi as saying.

Indonesia already has tough narcotics laws, including death by firing squad for large-scale traffickers.

But the government believes more needs to be done to deter local drug use.

Across Indonesia, police have stepped up raids on suspected drug dens. A recent raid in Jakarta resulted in four deaths - a police officer, a police informer, and two gang members.

"We have to fight this war on drugs everywhere," said Mr Hendro Pandowo, the local police chief who oversaw the raid.

"They have to be cleaned off the streets of Jakarta and eradicated throughout Indonesia."

33 DEATHS A DAY

According to government estimates, the country is home to 4.5 million addicts.

The government also estimates that 33 people die from drug overdoses each day and it considers the narcotics problem a national emergency.

Other controversial measures proposed include building a prison on an island guarded by crocodiles to hold death-row drug convicts.

The proposal is the pet project of anti-drug chief Budi Waseso.

"We will place as many crocodiles as we can there. I will search for the most ferocious type of crocodile," he was quoted on local news website Tempo late last year.

Mr Budi said crocodiles would be better at preventing drug traffickers from escaping prison as they could not be bribed - unlike human guards.

Up to 70 per cent of Indonesia's total prison population are low-level drug offenders, according to prison officials.

indonesiadrugsUncategorisedNational Narcotics Agency