10 firework-maker families sought

JAKARTA (JP): Tangerang police are searching for the whereabouts of 10 families who were missing when police raided their residences at Kampung Malang Nengah, Legok.

The residential raid was carried out as part of a police investigation into the growing number of fireworks found in local markets, City Police spokesman Lt. Col. Bambang Haryoko told reporters here yesterday.

"During the neighborhood raid at 5 p.m. Saturday, the police only found two suspects at the scene," Bambang reported.

During the raid, the police seized 50 kilograms of various types of fireworks along with raw materials weighing 500 kilograms and worth millions of rupiah on the pyro-hungry streets of Jakarta.

Bambang said the other family members might have been informed about the raid beforehand.

"So far, we have no valuable information as to their places of hiding," the spokesman added.

Two suspects already in the custody of Tangerang police have been identified as Arsani and the second, a woman, named Maimunah.

The unlicensed sale and use of fireworks are prohibited by the government though many, particularly youngsters, cannot be stopped from purchasing and igniting fireworks during certain celebrations, such as New Year's Eve, less than a week away.

"The raid against the illegal makers of fireworks, a home industry for many local Tangerang residents, was carried out in line with the police's intention to make safe the New Year Eve's celebration in the greater Jakarta area," Bambang said. (bsr)