Illegal firearms easily available: Police
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The recent murder of a computer firm president and his bodyguard has alarmed citizens since the perpetrators used high-caliber firearms in committing the crime.
Police confirmed that many civilians possess firearms which were obtained illegally in the city.
"Many weapons have been circulating in the city. The weapons are allegedly smuggled from the conflict-torn areas of Maluku, Aceh and Central Sulawesi," said Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara on Friday.
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said that civilians are only permitted to possess registered firearms with a caliber of less than .32. Higher caliber weapons are only used by the police and military personnel.
He said that around 800 civilians are registered to own firearms in the city while the total number of registered firearms owners nationwide is 9,702.
Firearm owners must undergo an annual assessment of their suitability to possess dangerous weapons. The assessment includes target shooting and a psychological test.
Among those who own firearms are lawyers, bank directors and ministry or administrative high-ranking officials whose occupations are deemed risky.
Police are currently investigating the shooting of PT ASABA president director Boedyharto Angsono and the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) bodyguard First Sgt. Edi Siyet, said that the bullets found in both bodies came from a military standard gun as they found nine-millimeter casings at the scene.
"We have to further investigate the finding (of the use of military standard arms). But the use of military standard guns in a crime doesn't necessarily mean that the perpetrators are military personnel," Makbul said.
His statement was based on several arrests this year in which the police seized military standard guns from suspects linked to Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Nine alleged members of JI were arrested in Java. Police seized ammunition, explosives and also firearms, including M-16 assault rifles at the scene of the arrests.
Last year, police also arrested suspects accused of planting a bomb at the Graha Cijantung mall in East Jakarta, close to Kopassus Headquarters.
During the arrest, police confiscated from the suspects, allegedly linked to GAM, several grenades, homemade bombs, 20,000 rounds of ammunition, more than 160 magazines, several detonators and firearms.
National Military Police Commander Maj. Gen. Sulaiman A.B. revealed that his office supported the police investigation of the firearms used in the shootings.
"We have just a suspicion (that the shooting may be conducted by military personnel), but we are still working on it," Sulaiman said.
The public suspect that military personnel may be behind Boedyharto's shootings, not just because of the use of a military standard weapon but also due to the fact that the sharp shooter was capable of killing an active member of Kopassus anti-terror squad.
However, Prasetyo said that there was a great number of crimes committed in the city which used illegal arms.
"All crimes have been committed by armed perpetrators using illegal weapons. It's difficult for the police to trace the origin of the weapons and also the suspects," he said.
"Otherwise, we will easily catch them as we have a databank on registered weapons possessed by civilians," he added.
This year alone at least 14 cases of shootings involving civilians in the city have taken place.