Report says Indonesia, China now key drugs areas

CANBERRA, Sep 19 (Reuters) Indonesia and China have become important new hubs for the illegal drugs trade, an Australian government report has found, with the growth in the use of illicit amphetamines posing a new challenge for police.

Australian Justice Minister Chris Ellison said the report proved the need for stronger regional police cooperation on drugs, an issue he had raised with the United States, China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

''It is now apparent that a regional response to the threat of amphetamine-type substances is required,'' Ellison said in a statement.

The study by the Australian National Council on Drugs has yet to be officially released, but the Australian newspaper said the report pointed to the growing influence of Indonesia and China in the drugs trade.

''Indonesia was previously a transit rather than destination country for illicit drugs but this has recently changed so that Indonesia is now a point of transit, a destination and a source of drugs,'' the newspaper quoted the report as saying.

It said China was now a key drug producer, with ecstasy tablets made there for as little as 6 US cents a tablet.

New drug routes from Afghanistan into China had made China a key drugs hub, the report said, adding that ''the trafficking of drugs through China has increased substantially''.

Ellison said the report found opium production had declined in the lawless Golden Triangle jungle region, where eastern Myanmar, northwestern Laos and northern Thailand meet, but the area had become the source of more amphetamines.

He said cannabis remained the principal illicit drug in Pacific island nations.

Australia has strengthened police cooperation with Indonesia and Southeast Asian nations, with 65 Australian police deployed in 27 countries to help with training and the exchange of criminal intelligence.

Six Australians, part of the so-called ''Bali Nine'', are facing the death penalty in Indonesia after being convicted of heroin smuggling. Their arrest came after Australian police tipped off Indonesian police about the smuggling racket.

REUTERS LL SSC1414