Police capture five escapees marijuana remains missing<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Apriadi Gunawan, Medan<\/p>\n
Local police have recaptured five of the 61 former detainees
\nwho escaped from their cells at the Binjai Police lockup late in
\nSeptember, but the 1.5 tons of marijuana that was taken during
\nthe two-day battle between elements of the Army and police,
\nremains missing.<\/p>\n
Binjai Police precinct chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Bambang Waskito
\nsaid here that the five inmates were captured in several places
\naround North Sumatra during an operation last week.<\/p>\n
In a bid to catch the prisoners still at large, Bambang said
\nthe police had put them on a wanted list distributed to police
\nprecincts and stations across the province.<\/p>\n
Bambang was speaking after attending a closed-door meeting
\nbetween outgoing provincial police chief Insp. Gen. Ansyad Mbai
\nand his successor Insp. Gen. I Gede Dewa Astika at the North
\nSumatra Police headquarters here.<\/p>\n
Astika will officially take over from Ansyad on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The violent incident took place when dozens of Army soldiers
\nfrom the 100th Airborne Unit attacked the police precinct on
\nSept, 29, leaving 12 dead, including civilians. There were
\nreports that the assault was related to a drug dealer in custody
\nand the marijuana, which had earlier been seized by police as
\nevidence.<\/p>\n
North Sumatra Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Amrin Karim said
\nduring the meeting, that Ansyad briefed Astika on the general
\nsecurity conditions in he province and several outstanding cases,
\nincluding the attack in Binjai, illegal logging and palm oil
\nsmuggling.<\/p>\n
Amrin said Ansyad admitted during the meeting that there were
\nmany things to be done regarding the investigation of the Binjai
\nincident.<\/p>\n
The spokesman said the police were continuing the search for
\nthe missing marijuana and the remaining inmates.<\/p>\n
He stated that the police would find it difficult to recover
\nthe marijuana, which he said could easily be hidden or quickly
\ndistributed.<\/p>\n
\"Maybe the marijuana has been sold or already consumed by its
\nbuyers. We have not ruled out those possibilities, because so
\nfar, we have been unable to regain it,\" Amrin said.<\/p>\n
Amrin also said that they were still \"in the dark\" about who
\ntook the drugs with a street value of billions of rupiah.<\/p>\n
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu has apologized for
\nthe incident and discharged 20 soldiers for their involvement in
\nthe shootout. All of the soldiers in the airborne unit were
\nreportedly transferred.<\/p>\n
Later Ryamizard announced the replacement of Bukit Barisan
\nMilitary commander, which oversees North Sumatra, Maj. Gen. Idris
\nGassing with Brig. Gen. Tritamtomo, the current Jakarta Military
\nGarrison chief. The transfer will take place on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The National Police and the Indonesian Military formed a joint
\ninquiry team in the wake of the armed clash.<\/p>\n
A non-governmental organization revealed that the incident
\nshowed how police and soldiers squabble over control of the
\nlucrative drug trade. It said many illegal businesses here were
\nable to thrive due to what has generally been attributed to
\nprotection money that criminal gangs pay to police or military
\npersonnel.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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