TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:There is always irony and contradiction in Indonesia’s law enforcement efforts. While President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently granted a five-year clemency for drug convict Schapelle Leigh Corby, on the other hand the public has been presented with a pleasant surprise of a recent major drug bust by the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (BNN) – the agency seized 1.5 million ecstasy pills worth almost half a trillion rupiah. Corby was sentenced after she was found guilty of carrying 2.4 kilograms of marijuana. The Australian citizen was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, in 2005 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Through reasons of prisoner barter, the president granted the convict clemency while the police and the BNN are striving to prevent narcotics from entering the country. The next irony comes from the fact the 1.5 million ecstasy pills were sent from China to an Indonesian navy officer with the rank of sergeant major. The package was addressed to Primer Koperasi Kalta, a cooperative owned by the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) where the sergeant had been a member for 14 years. The person in question has been held in custody for questioning by the military police task force. The illegal pills may not belong to the cooperative as BIN officials have officially denied any involvement. However, the involvement of an active army member has raised questions about the ailing condition of Indonesia’s law enforcement efforts. The army, which is expected to protect and prevent the import of narcotics, has seemingly become a facilitator. The amount of the bust was substantial. Evidently, it was not a small-time crime. It is easy to assume the army member was only a messenger or even part of a larger syndicate. The smuggle plan, which involved addressing the package to an intelligence agency, revealed how familiar the sergeant was with the procedures of the customs and excise agency at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port. The package arrived from Shenzhen Port, China, on April 28. The officers had only checked the shipment on May 8. The gap between delivery, checking and the bust raised concerns that the evidence may disappear. The involvement of officials in the smuggling and distribution of drugs should convince the public that the jargon about the “war against drugs” is to be taken seriously. Furthermore, Military Law stipulates that the questioning of the army member in regard to his alleged drug smuggling activity will be conducted by the military police. Without questioning the authority of the institution, the investigation of a general criminal case would have been more appropriate if handled by the police or another institution. In addition, this is a major case involving extensive network. There is huge possibility that the sergeant is in cahoots with other army members. The police, a separate institution from the state, will be able to thoroughly conduct the investigation to find the mastermind. Drugs are just as detrimental as corruption because they claim the future of the country’s next generation. Taking narcotic eradication efforts lightly would be the same as digging our own grave. Police authority and the state’s seriousness in eradicating the distribution of narcotics will be determined by how this case is handled.