Indonesia Might Build a Prison Island for Drug Offenders That’s Guarded by Killer Crocodiles

Thumbnail photo via Flickr user Spiterman

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Last week, Budi Waseso, head of Indonesia’s anti-drug agency, announced he might try to lump the country’s death-row drug convicts in a special prison guarded by crocodiles, as the BBC reports.

Of course, Waseso has no intention of just tossing a bunch of killer crocs into Indonesia’s existing prisons. Instead, he’s mulling construction of a special island specifically to house those who have fallen prey to an intense national crackdown on drugs.

First, though, Waseso plans to go on a national tour to find the scariest crocs in the land.

“I will search for the most ferocious type of crocodile,” he said, according to Tempo, a local news site.

The reasoning behind the whole crocs-as-guards thing—which so far remains a mere proposal—is pretty straightforward, according to Waseso. “You can’t bribe crocodiles. You can’t convince them to let inmates escape,” he was quoted as saying.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has come down hard after drug offenders recently, executing both locals and foreign nationals by firing squad, despite protests against the practice. A four-year halt to executions was lifted in 2013.

In January, Widodo called narcotic abuse in Indonesia a “national emergency.” Savage reptiles, it would seem, are just the latest brutal tactic employed by his government.