1,500 arrested in past three weeks' operation
1,500 arrested in past three weeks' operation
JAKARTA (JP): City Military Command has apprehended 1,551
people for various violations during Operation Cleansing which
began on Nov. 11.
He said that 537 of the apprehended people were gamblers, 509
were people with no ID cards, 251 drunkards, 89 three-in-one
kids, 83 students involved in brawls, 56 street criminals and 26
touts.
Spokesman Lt. Col. Didi Supandi said on Saturday that the
military had also confiscated two 22 mm Colt firearms with 54
bullets, one kilogram of marijuana, 83 sharp weapons, 3,606
bottles of alcohol and more than 3,000 barbiturate pills from the
detainees.
The pistols and bullets were confiscated from a bogus army
sergeant, Agus Nawan Panjaitan, Didi said.
Agus was arrested in Parung, West Java on Nov. 29 following
local inhabitants' tips that the "sergeant" frequently committed
armed robbery in the streets of Parung, Sawangan and other
subdistricts in South Jakarta. Agus was jailed in 1993 on similar
charges.
The marijuana was confiscated from an alleged dealer,
identified as Syahrul Amin, alias Bob. He was caught when
reportedly selling the contraband to Tjang Tjang on Jl. Bungur
Besar, Central Jakarta, the spokesman said.
According to Didi, Syahrul said that he had been dealing in
marijuana since 1984 and bought the product from friends,
identified as Yusuf and Armen, at Rp 1.6 million per kilogram.
Yusuf and Armen are still at large.
Three other alleged traffickers, identified as Edi Sulistyo
alias Bakin, Herri Sularto and Syahrul Alamsyah were among the
arrestees.
They have allegedly been supplying drugs to senior high school
students in Ciracas, East Jakarta since 1992, Didi said.
City Military Command has mobilized 4,000 personnel, including
a 650-strong motorcycle unit, to back up police in Operation
Cleansing.
"We hope Operation Cleansing decreases the number of crimes in
the city so that people feel secure," Didi said.
In a related development, 90 entertainment centers were closed
down for between three and four days by the city administration
during a series of raids which began in April.
The head of the city office of public order, Toha Reno, said
that the entertainment centers which are located in all
mayoralties were closed for violating operational hours. "Some of
them had no operation permits," he said.
Toha said 110 officials were involved in the operation.
His office warned 19 other entertainment centers for similar
violations.
Last year's Operation Cleansing conducted by the military and
police led to the capture of more than 1,000 people charged with
various crimes. Almost four million tablets or capsules of
restricted drugs and some marijuana, a half a million bottles of
alcoholic drinks and more than 300 firearms and sharp weapons
were confiscated last year. (29)