City detectives to testify in Guam drug tribunal soon
JAKARTA (JP): Three Indonesian officials, including two police officers, and two Dutchmen charged with drug trafficking in the Central Jakarta District Court will go to the United States soon.
Maj. Charles Marpaung, the chief detective at the Central Jakarta police precinct, told The Jakarta Post and Republika over the weekend the five were invited by U.S. authorities to testify in the trial of two American servicemen arrested in Jakarta in February for trafficking.
"The five men include myself and 1st Sgt. RS Purba," Charles said.
The American servicemen, identified as Steven Joseph Bryner and Peter Michael Karajin III, both 25, were captured along with four others, including two Dutchmen, on Feb. 6 by a team of police officers lead by Maj. Charles in the lobby of Borobudur Intercontinental hotel. They were caught red-handed selling "Eva" pills by a team of police officers led by Charles.
The two Americans, a marine and an air force member, worked as administrative and technical staff at the U.S. embassy in Jakarta. They had diplomatic immunity and were sent to the U.S. territory, Guam, for trial in a military tribunal.
Charles said the U.S. embassy, on behalf of the U.S. military tribunal, recently sent two letters, one to the Central Jakarta police, the other to the national police headquarters, asking two witnesses to testify in the servicemen's trial in Guam.
Charles said he and the other police witness were waiting for the necessary permit from national police headquarters.
"We will probably go by the end of this month," Charles said.
Charles' entourage is expected to include the two Dutchmen who were captured together with the U.S. servicemen in the Borobudur raid.
The two Dutchmen are Christian van den Bosch and Leonard Jacobus, alias Levy, both 20. Van den Bosch was convicted and sentenced by the Central Jakarta District Court to three years imprisonment last week, while Jacobus is being tried separately at the same court.
Guard
"If either or both of the Dutchmen go along, two police officers will be needed to guard them," Charles explained.
An official from the prosecutor's office also may go along because evidence pertaining to the drug case is under its authority.
Charles said the trip will be financed by the American authorities.
The U.S. embassy could not be reached for comment.
During the trial of Van den Bosch, the prosecutor said that the Dutchman met an Indonesian woman by the name of Nova last year at the Tanah Mur discotheque in Central Jakarta. Nova reportedly agreed to purchase several thousands of "Eva" pills at Rp 80,000 (US$37.2) each.
The pill contain the illegal substance, derivate amphetamine.
A few months later, Van den Bosch returned to the Netherlands and sent a package containing the pills to Bryner's address, Jl. Cikotomas I No. 31, South Jakarta, where Van den Bosch and three other foreigners stayed in Indonesia.
Upon returning to Jakarta, Van den Bosch was contacted by Nova's accomplice, Irsan, who proposed that the transaction be made in the lobby of the Borobudur Intercontinental Hotel. Irsan escaped arrest.
Police, who had received a tip-off about the illegal transaction, captured Van den Bosch, Jacobus and the two American servicemen and seized 163 "Eva" pills from them.
In the ensuing search at Bryner's house on Jl. Cikotomas, police confiscated another 7,500 "Eva" pills hidden in a cabinet. (jsk)