Jakarta – At least 18,500 schoolchildren – some as young as seven – are believed to use drugs in Indonesia, National Narcotics Agency chief Togar Sianipar has said.

"From that number, primary school students account for about 1,000, junior high school students around 7,500 and senior high school around 10,000," Mr Sianipar was quoted as saying by the Antara news agency.

Mr Sianipar did not give the source of the statistics but said some users were as young as seven. He also reportedly admitted that law enforcement personnel were acting as drug dealers and distributors.

Mr Sianipar said his agency was planning to form provincial and district branches across the country and called for a concerted attack on narcotics and "high discipline" from law enforcement officials. During the early 1980s, Indonesia was merely a stepping stone for dealers engaged in the international narcotics trade. It has now become a market in its own right.