Armed suspect drug dealer arrested

JAKARTA (JP): Acting on a tip-off, police arrested a 38-year- old man on Tuesday for possession of a Colt handgun and a FN Commander 32 handgun.

The police arrested the suspect, Erikson Tobing, alias Kapten, at a gas station in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta. The suspect's wife and three children were also at the gas station.

While searching Kapten's vehicle, officers found a small bag of putaw (low-grade heroin) and a few grams of marijuana, chief detective of the city police's narcotics unit, Lt. Col. Abdullah, said on Wednesday.

During preliminary questioning, Kapten admitted that he was a putaw dealer. He said he purchased the guns, costing Rp 1 million each, to protect himself while selling drugs, Abdullah said.

The officer quoted Kapten as saying that the guns were purchased from a man, identified only as Elos, in the Pulo Mas area.

"We believe we will be able to build a case with the help of Kapten, who so far has been cooperative with us," he said.

"From his tip-offs so far, we believe we will be able to seize two more guns from his friend, and if possible we will arrest the seller," Abdullah said, adding that the targeted suspects had all been identified.

Kapten lives in the Taman Narogong Indah housing complex in Pengasinan, Bekasi.

Shortly after the arrest, Kapten and his family were taken to city police headquarters in South Jakarta for questioning.

"They (Kapten's wife and children) will only be witnesses in the case and none of them will be detained," Abdullah said.

The police, he added, had been surveilling Kapten thanks to a tip-off from the suspect's neighbors.

"We didn't know that he was also a putaw seller until we found putaw and marijuana in his car," Abdullah said.

At about 8 p.m. on Tuesday, a team of police detectives were assigned to follow Kapten's vehicle, a green Suzuki van, from a house in the Pulo Mas area of East Jakarta, he stated.

The officers later learned that the suspect's wife and three children were also in the vehicle.

When Kapten stopped at the Cempaka Putih gas station and exited his vehicle, the officers apprehended him and searched his van, Abdullah said. (emf)