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.