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)