29 people netted in discotheque raid released
29 people netted in discotheque raid released
JAKARTA (JP): City police have released all 29 people,
including 11 Armed Forces members, netted in a pre-dawn raid on
Sunday at a huge discotheque in Kota, West Jakarta.
"We found no evidence to justify charging them for any
crimes," Spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said yesterday.
The 29 people, including three women, were netted at Zodiac
discotheque on the eight floor of Glodok Plaza on Jl. Pinangsia
Raya.
Zodiac is one of the largest discotheques in the city, with a
capacity of around 15,000.
The operation was carried out by a joint team of 100 city
police and 125 military officers at the busy hour of one O'clock
in the morning. Both uniformed and plain-clothes officers were
involved.
After checking people for weapons or illegal drugs, the police
detained 197 people. However, only 29 people were brought to the
Jakarta Metropolitan Police Headquarters for further questioning.
"The war against illegal drugs in the city will go on,"
spokesman Iman said.
"There's no reason for us to stop our operations, which
include watching foreigners trafficking these harmful drugs," he
said.
The officers only found around 30 ecstasy pills and a few
grams of marijuana, dropped on the floor, slipped under the
carpet and stashed in plastic bottles by luckless previous
owners.
Officers also seized two guns from Armed Forces members.
Iman said that the 11 Armed Forces members were still being
interrogated at the Jakarta Military Police as of yesterday.
"Thus I have no authority to comment on the interrogation," he
said.
There have been reports that the Armed Forces members have
provided protection for illegal businesses in Glodok, Jakarta's
Chinatown, known for its night-life.
A few weeks ago, an officer from the National Police
Headquarters was found dead in a discotheque in the area. So far,
there has been no official statement from the National Police
Headquarters on that case. He was strongly believed to have taken
too many ecstasy pills. (bsr)