Tributes for the Australian convicted drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran who were executed in Indonesia in 2015.

Tributes for the Australian convicted drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran who were executed in Indonesia in 2015.

CONVICTED drug dealers could be put to death by being force-fed their own narcotics under a controversial new idea being considered in Indonesia.

Attempting to act against the country's estimated 4.5 million drug addicts, the terrifying concept has been suggested by the government's National Narcotics Agency.

Government statistics suggest 33 people will die from drug overdoses each day, with narcotic addiction now considered a national emergency.

"We need to be serious because drugs are the enemy," an NNA spokesman told Al-Jazeera.

Already drug dealers risk death by firing squad, but the government wants to do more.

Critics are warning that heavy-handed actions won't address the problem, and could contribute to an HIV outbreak as frightened users share needles.

Prisons in Indonesia are also not immune to the drug epidemic, meaning that addicts are likely to remain dependent on illegal narcotics even as they serve time for drug offences.

In 2013, a methamphetamine lab was discovered inside a jail, with three guards involved.

One prison warden told Al-Jazeera guards were still smuggling drugs into jails.

"I don't deny bribes and corruption occurs in the jail," he said.

"Our staff are human beings; they can get influenced by criminals. I am sure by boosting the morality of the guards, it will improve. Now, we conduct more training about the laws. "