Organized crime is here<\/p>\n
President Soeharto on Monday asked the National Police to
\naddress the problem of organized crime. In his speech marking the
\nforce's 50th anniversary, Soeharto said our police should devote
\nspecial attention to the issue, looking not only at the growing
\nnumber of organized criminal activities, but more particularly at
\nthe sophistication of their planning, organization and execution.
\nHe cited economic development, advances in science and technology
\nand changes in society and culture as factors that could lead to
\nthe growth of new types of crimes we are not familiar with. His
\nremarks bring us to the reality that organized crime exists in
\nthis country.<\/p>\n
We recall that as recently as last year, most law enforcement
\nofficials and legal experts still dismissed organized crime as a
\nminor problem in this country. They said that none of the crimes
\ncommitted in Indonesia could be traced to any of the big
\ninternational syndicates. They acknowledged the presence of local
\ncrime groups, but these did not possess the sophistication
\nnormally associated with the Chinese triads and the Japanese
\nYakuzas.<\/p>\n
So while the potential threat from organized crime was widely
\nrecognized, as apparent from the widespread debate on the subject
\nlast year, the issue received little priority from our law
\nenforcement agents, who were more concerned with containing
\nproblems associated with traditional crimes.<\/p>\n
What triggered the debate on the problems of organized crime
\nlast year was the 1994 murder of Nyo Beng Seng, a prominent
\nJakarta-based figure in the gambling business and owner of
\nseveral massage parlors and night clubs in Jakarta. Two men were
\nconvicted for the murder, but police believed that they were
\nassassins hired by Beng Seng's business rival, who resides in
\nSingapore. Even then, police believed that this was a case of
\nrivalry between syndicate leaders and did not reflect the
\nseriousness of organized crime in the country.<\/p>\n
Yet there were others, representing a minority group, who
\nbelieved that organized crime had already penetrated deep into
\nIndonesia, and that syndicates, albeit local ones, were taking
\nroot in our society. These underworld organizations controlled
\nthe lucrative vice trade: drugs, prostitution and gambling. While
\nthey may not have the sophistication of the Chinese triads, they
\nhave been working in collusion with people in powerful places.
\nThese pessimists pointed out that many anti-vice operations
\nrepeatedly failed because they were leaked beforehand, or that
\nthey were dropped at the intervention of powerful people.<\/p>\n
They argue that we have underestimated our own underworld
\nactivities and that what we have seen or heard about organized
\ncrime in this country was only the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n
There is ample evidence to suggest that crime groups have
\nexpanded their tentacles in the country. One needs only to look
\nat the lucrative Ecstasy trade. The dozens of arrests made by
\npolice at discotheques and at Jakarta, Medan and Bali airports in
\nthe last few months represented the "small fries". The "big fish"
\n-- the syndicates behind the trade -- are still at large and will
\nlikely remain invisible, given the sophistication of their
\noperation. Two other vices traditionally run by crime groups --
\nprostitution and gambling -- are also thriving, although gambling
\nis outlawed and prostitution is supposedly under strict
\ngovernment control.<\/p>\n
There is another reason to be gloomy. Organized criminal
\nactivity usually breeds in places where corruption and collusion
\nare rife and the law is weak. This makes Indonesia especially
\nvulnerable.<\/p>\n
It is therefore a big relief to hear President Soeharto's
\nspeech in which he recognized the problem of organized crime.
\nThis means that something at last will be done. But before
\ndiscussing what actions to take, it would be wiser if we first
\ntry to recognize the severity of the problem. We need to
\ndetermine not only the international links that these crime
\nsyndicates have, but more so the influence that they have built,
\nincluding their links with politically powerful people in this
\ncountry. Once we know the challenges confronting us, we can
\ndecide on a proper course of action.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/organized-crime-is-here-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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