Jakarta. The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the Directorate General of Customs and Excise have uncovered 172 drug cases and arrested 285 suspects between April and June 2025.

During a joint press conference held on Monday at the Customs and Excise headquarters in East Jakarta, BNN Chief Marthinus Hukom said that many suspects were driven by financial desperation, even at the risk of facing the death penalty.

“There are situations that push people to act irrationally, urgent economic needs, for instance,” Marthinus told reporters.

Despite harsh penalties, including the death sentence for major drug offenses, the agency continues to see individuals, many of whom earn minimum wages, enticed by large sums of money offered by drug syndicates.

“When consumption outpaces income, and people are tempted with promises of quick money, they may make reckless choices,” he said.

Women’s Role in Drug Networks

BNN also raised concerns over the increasing involvement of women in drug trafficking networks. Women are often recruited as couriers, believed by syndicates to attract less suspicion from law enforcement.

Of the 285 individuals arrested during the quarter, 29 were women and 256 were men. The arrests stemmed from cases recorded in the narcotics reporting System, or LKN, the agency’s formal drug case registry.

In addition to drug trafficking, BNN also uncovered two money laundering cases linked to major narcotics syndicates, with assets seized totaling Rp 26.2 billion (approximately $1.6 million).

Authorities confiscated a total of 683.8 kilograms of illegal substances during the three-month period. The seized items included:

• 308,631 grams of methamphetamine

• 372,266 grams of marijuana

• 6,640 ecstasy pills (equal to 2,663 grams)

• 179 grams of THC

• 104 grams of hashish

• 41 grams of amphetamines