Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services announced on June 15 that it has transferred 100 inmates from penitentiaries in North Sumatra to the maximum-security prison island of Nusakambangan in Central Java in a bid to eradicate drug trafficking operations in prisons.
The high-profile inmates were relocated on June 14, according to Rika Aprianti, head of the ministry’s Sub-Directorate of Cooperation in Correctional Services, in a press statement.
Aprianti added that Minister of Immigration and Correctional Services Agus Andrianto has consistently upheld a zero-tolerance policy toward both contraband cell phones and drug trafficking inside correctional facilities.
She also noted that around 1,000 inmates in Indonesia have so far been transferred to the prison island since Andrianto assumed office, saying the transfer also aims to encourage better behaviour among the inmates.
North Sumatra is ranked as the third most vulnerable province in Indonesia for drug-related crimes, according to the National Narcotics Agency, with an estimated 3.06% of the province’s population classified as drug users./.