Gambling dens halt operations amid crackdown

Gambling dens halt operations amid crackdown

The Jakarta Post, Batam/Surabaya/Kupang

Many gambling dens nationwide appeared to have closed up shop on
Thursday as police intensified their major crackdown against the
vice, with dozens of gambling den operators having been rounded
up since Monday when National Police chief Gen. Sutanto started
his campaign against rampant gambling.

Since Monday, Riau Islands Police have arrested nine gambling
bosses, while their colleagues in the Surabaya Police have
apprehended 38 petty gambling operators.

Arrests were also made in Yogyakarta where the police nabbed
nine petty gamblers.

"Arresting the big gambling operators is difficult as they run
their gambling businesses covertly," argued Surabaya Police chief
Sr. Comr. Sutarman. He said that the police needed more time to
eradicate gambling in the city.

Besides arresting the gambling operators, the Surabaya Police
also confiscated 14 gaming machines and millions of rupiah in
evidence.

The nationwide raids appeared to have put the wind up the
gambling operators. Fearing more arrests, most pulled the
shutters down on their gambling dens on Thursday.

"We have had to cease operations due to the crackdown. We will
wait for the situation to return to normal," said Ha, who
operates an illegal numbers racket, locally known as togel, in
Medan.

Similarly in Surabaya, gambling bosses have instructed their
employees to shut up shop while waiting for the campaign to run
out of steam.

Despite the major crackdown, the public appear to be
pessimistic that gambling can be completely eradicated. Gambling
is well entrenched all around the country, while security
personnel, including police officers, are allegedly deeply
involved in the illegal industry. Quoting an employee in a major
gambling den in Medan, Antara reported that the police themselves
had a stake in the operation. Gambling bosses often bribe police
officers to provide protection, and it is this in particular that
has made it so difficult to eradicate the practice.

"I hope that the crackdown is not a flash in the pan. Such
raids have to be mounted on an ongoing basis so that gambling can
be thoroughly eradicated," said the head of the Indonesian
Council of Ulemas Batam branch, Azahari Abbas.

While crackdowns have begun in many regions, Antara reported
that it was business as usual for the Central Java police, with
four major gambling dens in Semarang still open for business
despite a call from the Indonesian Police chief for the stamping
out of gambling within one week.

The four gambling dens are located in a shophouse in the Depok
area, a shophouse on Jl. Hasanudin, a house on Jl. Wahidin and a
house in the Bukitsari area.

Semarang Police chief Sr. Comr. Soehartono said that the
police had actually raided these gambling centers but found that
they possessed valid licenses for operating arcade games from the
Semarang Tourism Office.

"We will check again to see whether they have been abusing
their licenses for gambling purposes," said Soehartono.

Soehartono said that the Semarang Police often raided gambling
centers and arrested the gamblers. However, Antara observed that
most arrested gamblers and gambling den operators were small
time, while the big-time gambling bosses remained untouchable.