Soldier apprehended for alleged arms dealing<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
After conducting covert operations for weeks, the city police
\nnabbed on Thursday evening a military officer, who sold guns at
\nPintu Air, Pasar Baru in Central Jakarta and confiscated two guns
\nas evidence.<\/p>\n
City police general crime unit chief Sr. Comr. Mathius
\nSalempang said on Friday that the suspect was arrested while
\nselling a gun to an undercover police officer posing as a buyer.<\/p>\n
\"We have targeted him for weeks. Many have reported to us that
\nhe often sells guns in Pasar Baru. When the suspect offered our
\ninformant a gun, he reported it to us and we sent an officer as a
\nbuyer,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Displaying the guns confiscated in the operation to reporters,
\nMathius said that the suspect, identified only as A, surrendered
\nwithout much resistance after realizing he was surrounded by
\npolice officers.<\/p>\n
Mathius, however, refused to reveal the identity of the
\nsuspect, saying that they were still interrogating him and were
\nlooking for the person who supplied the guns from Bandung, West
\nJava.<\/p>\n
\"We have sent officers to Bandung to trace the man from whom
\nthe suspect got the guns. We have identified him (the supplier)
\nas D. However, when we got there, he had already disappeared,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
A police source at the city police headquarters, however, said
\nthat the suspect was a TNI non-commissioned officer identified as
\nSecond Sergeant Alex M, and had long been known as a supplier of
\nillegal guns.<\/p>\n
\"You can buy a gun at Pasar Baru for only Rp 5 million. He is
\none of the suppliers. He gets the guns from Bandung,\" the source
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Military armaments factory PT Pindad is located in Bandung,
\nand many have speculated that a number of guns had been smuggled
\nout of the factory to be sold illegally.<\/p>\n
Mathius said that police were still trying to find out where
\nthe suspect got the guns from because neither gun had an
\nidentification number.<\/p>\n
While dismissing speculation that the guns came from the
\nmilitary, city police chief Insp. Firman Gani confirmed that each
\nof the guns was an FN, and were factory made, not home-made guns.<\/p>\n
\"We don't know yet where the guns came from. But guns like
\nthat are not home-made. They could be smuggled guns,\" he said
\nwithout elaborating.<\/p>\n
Illegal guns have been blamed for the increasing number of
\narmed robberies in the capital.<\/p>\n
A police source has estimated that around 100,000 illegal guns
\nare circulating in Jakarta, and most of these guns are used for
\nrobberies or to conduct other crimes as the guns can change hands
\neasily for just a few million rupiah.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soldier-apprehended-for-alleged-arms-dealing-1447893297",
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