It sounds like something straight out of an Indiana Jones flick but, at least in Indonesia, it may soon become a reality. Jakarta's anti-drugs chief Budi Waseso wasn't joking when he proposed this pet project.
"We will place as many crocodiles as we can there. I will search for the most ferocious type of crocodile," Waseso was quoted as saying by local news website Tempo.
So what's the advantage of replacing human guards with reptiles? Think about corruption and intimidation. You'll hardly have much luck convincing a crocodile to let you out by promising his family won't be hurt. And crocodiles couldn't care less about money.
"You can't bribe crocodiles," Waseso explained "You can't convince them to let inmates escape."
Holding firm to his conviction that eliminating the human factor and letting crocodiles do the job would prevent prison breaks, Waseso's set his mind to visiting various parts of the archipelago in search for most terrifying, blood-thirsty reptiles to guard the proposed jail.
President Joko Widodo insists that such measures are necessary to conquer Indonesia's "national emergency" stemming from rising narcotics use. But the death penalty hasn't been much help in clearing the country of drug gangs, and corrupt jail officials are regularly arrested for drugs offences.
The plan is still in the early stages and will still be subject to deliberation, and the location of the facility and an opening date haven't been decided yet. But, according to the agency's spokesman Slamet Pribadi, the Justice Ministry has been informed about the plan, which it is considering.
