Five Africans shot dead in Kemayoran drug raid

JAKARTA (JP): South Jakarta Police detectives have shot dead five African nationals who were allegedly members of an international drug ring.

A team of detectives, led by South Jakarta Police chief of detectives Maj. Rycko Amelza Daniel, raided a building on Jl. Garuda, Kemayoran district, Central Jakarta, at 2:30 p.m. A shootout ensued, during which the five foreigners were killed.

An FN 46 gun and eight bullets were seized from the dead suspects.

Rycko told The Jakarta Post at the scene that only two of the five casualties lived in the building.

"We have been able to make definite identification. One of the two who lived in the dormitory was named Emesi, a Nigerian, and one outsider whom we knew as Oscar. We have the identities of the remaining three and are sure they were all Africans, but we still need to identify who is who," Rycko said.

He said Emesi entered the country on passport number A01216569.

The building, which is the former office of women's magazine Kartini, had been converted into a boardinghouse. It is owned by Ucok Lumban. Four rooms were occupied by foreigners and four room by Indonesians.

The police confiscated 506 grams of pure heroin which was hidden in sofas, cupboards and shelves of five rooms in the building and from the hands of the suspects, who tried to flee the vast two-story building before they were shot.

One hundred grams of heroin has a street value of Rp 40 million (US$5,340).

Rycko said the police had been investigating the case for the past five days.

"Our insider had been meeting with Oscar, who was a notorious drug supplier and dealer, over the past five days. We first gave our man fake money to get about 25 grams of heroin from Oscar. Oscar got it for us," Rycko said.

"The problem was Oscar, who actually lives in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, refused to sell more than 25 grams unless we bought it from him at this building on Jl. Garuda. That confirmed our suspicion that Oscar had friends here from whom he got the drugs.

"Our informant always went by taxi to meet Oscar. We used a Kotas taxi, among other vehicles, which we confiscated from suspected rapists, and we went to the new location today (Thursday). Just as we were about to make the transaction, one of the five suspects became suspicious, and the firing started," Rycko said.

The interior of the building resembles a maze, with corridors heading off in all directions. The suspects' rooms were reached by descending a steel staircase which led to a vast space, from where a right turn had to be taken to get to their rooms.

"First, I wanted to go up to the second floor, but then my other detectives went down a hidden steel staircase. I followed them."

The South Jakarta detectives were backed up in the raid by city police detectives, including city police chief of detectives Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo, narcotics chiefs Lt. Col. Abdullah and Maj. Gusti Gunawa.

The foreigners living in the building were identified as Chidoke Chidu from Kenya, Ndifelani Mbezi from Zimbabwe, Frank I Igwgalor from Liberia, Emesi from Nigeria, Oleropo Peter Ayeni from Zambia, Wassi Madinatu from Kenya and Never Chitsinga from Zimbabwe.

A woman living in the boardinghouse, Sri Purwati, identified the bodies of Oscar and Emesi, while clamping her nose tightly to ward off the smells of blood and dirt on the ground.

"Oh my God... I can't take this, please get me back to the lobby," Sri told a detective who had taken her to identify the bodies, amid a horde of detectives and crime reporters.

Sri later added that Emesi had only moved into the rented room earlier this month. The monthly rent at the boarding house ranges from Rp 800,000 to Rp 1.5 million.

Five other Africans who were suspected of being members of an international drug ring were also shot dead in a police raid on Gg Cempaka Dua Dalam off Jl. P Antasari in Cipete, South Jakarta, on the night of Jan. 12. (ylt)