JAKARTA (JP): The police said yesterday they will continue
JAKARTA (JP): The police said yesterday they will continue their anti-spirits operation, which was launched by police to supplement the ongoing anti-crime Operasi Bersih or Operation Cleansing, despite complaints from several owners of companies producing beverages.
Some of these owners said they have nearly gone bankrupt because their sales have dropped drastically during the on-going operation.
"The businessmen can say anything they want, but we must follow orders given to use by our superiors, that is to seize as many illegal alcoholic drinks as we can," Capt. Syaiful Bd., who heads the round-the-clock operation, told reporters here yesterday.
Syaiful questioned why the government has yet to close down companies producing alcoholic drinks, which he blamed for the corrupt state of the young generation and the increasing number of crimes in the city.
"If we really intend to reduce the crimes rate, we should shut down all factories that produce spirits," said Syaiful, who is also chief of the Operational Unit of the on-the-alert City Police squad.
A number of spirits producers, mostly those located in Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi, claimed that production has dropped to its lowest levels as wholesalers and retailers have stopped buying their products for fear they would be seized by the authorities.
An executive of a producer of numerous brand name alcoholic drinks, PT Suba Indah, which produced 3.7 million bottles of beverages in 1990 in Cimanggis, Bogor, said his firm's production dropped to around 90 percent last month.
Another company, PT Perindustrian Bapak Jenggot, which produced 130 million bottles in 1990, claimed similar problems and said it is considering laying off 1,250 workers.
The anti-spirits operation was launched by the city police to supplement the ongoing army-sponsored Operation Cleansing, an anti-crime campaign specifically design to reduce crimes in the city.
As of this week, Syaiful said police have seized a total of 150,000 bottles of spirits sold illegally at hundreds of drink stands in the city.
Some of the drinks were sold under the brand names of Mansion House, Double Kiwi, McDonald Whisky, Anggur Cap Orang Tua, Kamput (White Goats), Anggur Merah and Anggur Putih wines.
Record
In a related development, the West Jakarta district military hit a record Tuesday, seizing 90,000 bottles of spirits and thousands of tins of expiring snacks during a raid on a single storehouse in Tambora district.
The storehouse, which is located on Jl. Orpa 84, is owned by Ng Djin Tjong, nicknamed "the boss of alcohol."
Dozens of officers from the district military garrison, the district police station as well as municipal officials were busily loading the goods into 15 trucks when the press came to the West Jakarta military garrison for a press conference.
The goods were reportedly to be delivered to the West Jakarta police for further legal processing.
Public
West Jakarta Military Commander Lt. Col. IP Sisworo partly credited the accomplishment to the public, whom he said had tipped off his men about the storehouse.
The public, said Sisworo, was suspicious about the storehouse as they saw people coming in and out every day carrying drinks containing more than 30 percent alcohol.
"Based on the tip-off, the officers stormed the premises on Sunday and found hundreds of thousands of bottles of spirits and thousands of tins of expiring snacks," the district commander was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday.
The officers then summoned Tjong and his right-hand man, Wong Fong Hin, 42, for questioning.
Wong reportedly tried to foil the confiscation, saying the business was legal, and showed licenses issued by police and the Health Ministry.
By Tjong's admission, his company "PD Shanoy," situated on Jl. Pintu Besar Selatan I, West Jakarta, bought the spirits from the PT Industri SEMAK factory, which is based on Jl. Raya Serang, West Java. (bsr/jsk)