Gambling bosses facing hard times

Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Arif (not his real name), a prominent numbers racket (togel) operator in Surabaya, shows a scar on his head to The Jakarta Post.

"When I was riding a motorcycle last year, suddenly somebody hit me on the back of the head with a lump of wood. I fell off the bike as a result," said Arif.

Arif then received treatment at the police's Bhayangkara Hospital in the city. He was lucky that he did not suffer from brain concussion. His doctor, however, told him to rest up for a while.

It was not the first such incident that had befallen Arif. Last year, he was stabbed in the stomach by a youth and had to be brought to the hospital. He felt lucky to be alive.

"Those are the risks you run as a gambling operator," Arif explained matter-of-factly.

Arif said that it was common to resolve problems with violence in gambling circles.

"The life of a gambling operator is life on the wild side. Whoever is the strongest will take over the area," said Arif, 28.

He said that he had been running a numbers racket since 1996 when he was still at senior high school. His father never prohibited him from doing so. In fact, his father, who used to be a thug at the Joyoboyo bus terminal in the city, ran the racket along with him.

According to Arif, he and his father became involved in the gambling business due to economic necessity. Before doing so, his father only earned some Rp 800,000 (US$83.3) a month. After they became involved in gambling, they were able to earn a net income of some Rp 10 million a month between them.

"With the money I got from gambling, I was able to finish my university degree," said Arif, who said he had decided to stay in the gambling business as he was unable to find a decent job.

In order to be able to successfully run his business, he has to maintain good contacts with the police. He acknowledged that he handed over Rp 3 million a month to local police officers.

Arif employs dozens of thugs and runners to provide protection and distribute the togel tickets. His subordinates are paid between Rp 400,000 and Rp 500,000 a month.

However, his racket has been under pressure since last week after National Police chief Gen. Sutanto declared war on gambling. Following the declaration, the police nationwide, including the Surabaya Police, launched a crackdown on the vice.

In order to avoid being arrested by the police, Arif and his father have closed up shop for the time being. He plans to start up the racket again after the crackdown runs out of steam.

In the meantime, Arif's father is working as a transportation tout at Joyoboyo terminal. Helping round up passengers in the terminal, he hopes to earn between Rp 700,000 and Rp 800,000 a month.

"I am concerned about the fate of the men who work for me. They are now jobless and I've heard that some of them have begun extorting money from people on the street," said Arif.

Separately, Surabaya Police chief Sr. Comr. Sutarman denied that his men received bribes from gambling operators such as Arif. "I've never found any of my men taking bribes. If you know about any police personnel taking bribes, please feel free to report them to us," said Sutarman in time-honored fashion.