Dozens of 'working girls' netted

JAKARTA (JP): Central Jakarta's Public Order Office and police have rounded up dozens of girls in raids on five discotheques in Jl. Gajah Mada, Central Jakarta.

Tugiman Supangkat from the Public Order Office said the girls were detained because they failed to show their identity cards.

"The girls who are proven to be prostitutes will be sent to a social service institute in Jl. Kebun Jeruk in West Jakarta," he said on Saturday.

Friday night's raids started at 10 p.m and lasted four hours. The five discotheques raided were Malioboro, Lisa Dangdut, Widuri, Duta, and Freedom.

Malioboro's general manager, Herman, failed to show the disco's operating permit. The disco is better known as Kings Cross.

An officer of the Public Order Office said the Malioboro discotheque had not applied for an operating permit.

A police captain at the Gambir police sub-precinct said that no Ecstasy pills or other prohibited drugs were seized in the raids: "The discotheque visitors had possibly thrown their Ecstasy pills into the toilets before the officers entered the building."

He said the disco's security guards had stopped the officers entering the second floor of the building.

The first floor of the building is used as an amusement center.

Ecstasy and prostitution raids have been conducted recently by city council with help from police and military police.

Some hotels in West Jakarta which provided rooms for "working girls" were also raided over the weekend.

Some girls were allegedly caught naked with male customers in their rooms. They were then taken to the local police station for questioning.

The latest Ecstasy raid by the military police was at Poster Kafe on Jl. Gatot Subroto last Thursday.

Police confiscated 52 Ecstasy pills, a gun and three knives during the raid.

Capt. Rusli, who led the raid, said they arrested 14 people, including nine women and five men.

Rusli confirmed that the military police will continue to fight crime, including drug abuse. (jun/25)