Ex-gang leader arrested for alleged gun possession

Ex-gang leader arrested for alleged gun possession

JAKARTA (JP): Hercules, a former gang leader at Tanah Abang
regional market in Central Jakarta was arrested predawn on
Tuesday for the alleged possession of an FN-45 handgun, said a
city police officer on Tuesday.

"City police arrested him at 3 a.m. at Cibitung tollgate in
Bekasi," said Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo, chief of the city
police detectives.

He said the police seized from the suspect the FN-45 handgun,
along with its seven bullets.

Alex said Hercules was arrested as he was driving his car
through the Cibitung toll gate.

"The police, who followed the car upon receiving a tip-off
from the public, then stopped the car at the tollgate at 3 a.m,"
he said.

Capt. Roli Lahban of the City Traffic Police, one of the
officers posted to secure the Jakarta-Cikampek tollroad, said
that he stopped a suspicious-looking Kijang van early Tuesday
morning, which had just come out of the Cibitung tollgate.

"I found out that Hercules and his three friends were inside.
I personally checked the Kijang van... I don't remember the van's
registration number. I found the FN-45 weapon and the seven
bullets," Roli told reporters.

"A keris (dagger) was also found under one of the van's
seats."

Alex said the city police detectives have observed Hercules
for some time, because he had been suspected not only for
possessing the gun, but also for organizing a gambling den.

Alex didn't disclose the gambling area, which is now
controlled by Hercules.

Hercules, a native of East Timor, is a former chief of a gang
controlling the Tanah Abang market, slated as the biggest textile
market in the country.

After a big clash with another group of gangsters in the
market last year, Hercules moved his base to Ragunan in South
Jakarta.

Alex didn't disclose how the suspect got the handgun and for
what purpose he kept it with him. (asa/ylt)