Sri Mulyani: Trillions Lost from Drug Trafficking Activities
8 February 2018 10:58 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said that illegal drug trades and smugglings happening in Indonesia can potentially cause the country to lose up to Rp135 trillion.
She based this prediction on the calculation of illegal drugs trafficking that is worth one percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP).
“If we refer to the international illegal drugs trafficking, Indonesia experiences a loss up to Rp135 trillion,” said Sri Mulyani at the Finance Ministry headquarters on Wednesday, February 7.
The losses she refers to is the potential losses from import duties.
“A country’s GDP does not calculate these illegal activities. So if you ask our GDP losses or undocumented GDPs, it is estimated to be one percent internationally,” said Sri Mulyani.
Throughout January 2018, The Finance Ministry through the Directorate General of Customs and Excise and the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (BNN) managed to expose three cases of drug smugglings in Aceh and Medan.
Authorities managed to confiscate more than 110.84 kilograms of crystal meth and 18,300 pieces of ecstasy from these drug busts.
Twelve suspects were arrested in the multiple drug bust. Head of BNN Budi Waseso also said that this proves that Aceh and North Sumatera are prime regions for drug trafficking in Indonesia.
DIAS PRASONGKO
