JAKARTA; A manhunt is underway for seven inmates who escaped from a narcotics prison in Jayapura, Papua, including three Papua New Guinea (PNG) nationals.
Prison Warden Jimreves Muloke said prison authorities had been coordinating with police and had formally requested assistance in tracking down and recapturing the escapees.
"We are searching for the inmates and have formally asked the Jayapura Police to help locate and recapture them," Jimreves said on Thursday, according to Tribunnews.com.
Jimreves said security officials had identified several possible escape routes, including paths the three PNG nationals could take to cross back into their home country.
"The three inmates are unlikely to use official border crossings because they entered Indonesia illegally. Instead, they are expected to use unofficial trails through forested areas to evade authorities and return to PNG," he said.
"We have submitted their personal details to the Jayapura Police," he added.
Jayapura Police Chief Sr Adj Comr Dionisius Helan said the seven inmates had been placed on a wanted list after police received a formal request from prison authorities for assistance in locating and recapturing them.
"We will do everything possible to ensure that all seven inmates are recaptured," he said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
The jailbreak took place at around 2.25am on Nov 1, according to the incident report.
The inmates escaped by cutting through the metal bars on their cell doors, although it remains unclear what tools they used. After breaking out of their cells, they scaled the wire fence surrounding the prison compound and fled.
Twelve inmates were involved in the escape, but prison officers managed to apprehend five of them.
The latest jailbreak comes less than a month after a separate prison break at Merauke Penitentiary in South Papua's Merauke regency on Oct 9.
The earlier incident saw 33 inmates escape after a prison inspection triggered a riot and a fire at the facility. All the escapees have since been recaptured.
Chronic overcrowding and staff shortages have contributed to repeated prison escapes across Indonesia.
Prisons currently hold more than 274,000 inmates, well above their combined capacity of around 152,000, according to data from the Corrections Directorate General.
At least six successful prison escapes have been reported across the country so far this year, including the two incidents in Papua.
The government is considering establishing drug rehabilitation centres on remote, uninhabited islands to ease prison overcrowding, as more than half of the country's inmates are serving sentences for drug-related offences.
The proposal has drawn criticism, with opponents describing the plan as "a punishment of exile, not rehabilitation".
Hari Nugroho, who coordinates clinical services for substance abuse treatment at the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), acknowledged these concerns.
"Building new facilities without strict standards and a qualified workforce risks turning them into little more than holding camps," he said.- Jakarta Post/ANN
