North Sumatra Police arrest suspected gun smugglers<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra<\/p>\n
North Sumatra Police have arrested eight alleged gunrunners they
\nbelieved have trafficked hundreds of firearms from southern
\nThailand to members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Aceh and
\nNorth Sumatra.<\/p>\n
The police caught the six men and two women in operations that
\nran from early last month until Feb. 7.<\/p>\n
Chief of detectives Adj. Sr. Comr. Mardi Rukmianto said police
\nuncovered the syndicate after they arrested a suspect, Ruslan
\nAbdul Gani, in Tebing Tinggi, North Sumatra on Jan. 8.<\/p>\n
Two firearms hidden in a refrigerator were also seized.<\/p>\n
Based on information from the suspect, police then arrested
\nseven other suspects, he said.<\/p>\n
Mardi said police believed the suspects came from two
\ndifferent gangs, that had acquired the arms from Thailand.<\/p>\n
One alleged gang leader Muhammad Daud alias Daud Ali alias
\nDaud Puteh, 53, was arrested on Jan. 15 in Tanjung Balai in North
\nSumatra.<\/p>\n
Later, another gang leader Daud Rampok alias Daud Tareh alias
\nDaud Hitam, 53, was arrested with his wife, Ida binti Kasim on
\nFeb. 7 in Bandung. Also arrested were Yusuf Awi, 26; Hamdani, 22;
\nNazariah binti Kasim, 29; and Fauzi alias Adi, 22.<\/p>\n
The police are still searching for several of the suspects'
\naccomplices -- Rusdi Jambang, Daud Shanghai and GAM leaders Abu
\nDabi and Abu Bakar -- all of whom are believed to have fled to
\nNipis island in southern Thailand.<\/p>\n
Last week, North Sumatra police chief, Insp. Gen. Edi Sunarno,
\nsaid they had information gunrunners had smuggled in 93 AK-47 and
\nM-16 rifles from southern Thailand to Aceh, 40 of which were
\nstill circulating in North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
"The suspects arrested were from that syndicate," Mardi told
\nThe Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Based on the confessions of those in Muhammad Daud's gang to
\npolice, smuggled firearms from Thailand were brought to the Idi
\nRayeuk village in East Aceh using a fishing boat last week. To
\noutwit authorities, the firearms were concealed in gunnysacks.<\/p>\n
Illegal firearms had been trafficked several times over a
\nnumber of years from Thailand using a middleman named Abi.<\/p>\n
In the first shipment in 2000, the suspects brought with them
\nUS$8,000 in cash from Aceh and went to Hat Yai in southern
\nThailand to acquire the contraband from Abi. They acquired a
\nmixture of 13 AK-47 and M-16 rifles.<\/p>\n
The contraband was later sent via Nipis island in southern
\nThailand to Idi Rayeuk in East Aceh. There, the two GAM leaders
\nAbu Bakar and Abu Dabi received the guns.<\/p>\n
After the first shipment was successful, in March and April
\n2001, the gang returned to Thailand bringing with them US$10,000.<\/p>\n
This time the gunrunners were accompanied by two of Daud
\nPuteh's friends, Rusdi and Daud. They went to Abi and bought 12
\nfirearms. These guns were later sent to Aceh by sea and received
\nby Abu Bakar.<\/p>\n
In July and November 2001, the gang again returned to Thailand
\nand bought a further 19 AK-47s, five M-16s and two pistols.<\/p>\n
Finally, at the end of 2002, with $15,000 cash, they went back
\nto Thailand, via Port Klang in Malaysia. From Malaysia they went
\noverland to Hat Yai. At that time, they bought 42 guns -- 39 AK-
\n47s and three pistols.<\/p>\n
"The weapons which they bought the last time are still
\nbelieved to be circulating on the black market in North Sumatra.
\nPolice are continuing to investigate," Mardi said.<\/p>\n
Members of Daud Rampok's gang had admitted to smuggling 87
\nfirearms since 1987, he said. They trafficked them through Adang
\nisland in the south of Thailand.<\/p>\n
Mardi was convinced the widespread sales of illegal firearms
\nin North Sumatra were fueled by the gunrunners' operations.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/north-sumatra-police-arrest-suspected-gun-smugglers-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}