Number of Student Suspects Increasing

Kompas/P Raditya Mahendra Yasa

Central Java National Narcotics Agency (BNN) officials present evidence and suspects in a case of drug distribution, at the Central Java BNN office in the city of Semarang, Friday (15/9). The law enforcement officials have destroyed crystal meth confiscated in far-flung villages.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The number of drug suspects among children and teenagers under the age of 15, as well as those between 16 and 19, has increased in the last two years.

According to data from the drug directorate of the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) compiled from cases handled by regional police forces and the drug directorate, there were only 69 drug suspects under the age of 15 in 2015. However, that number increased to 114 people in 2016, and in 2017, as of July, the number has reached 67 people.