Kopassus impostor busted in hotel raid

JAKARTA (JP): A man posing as a member of the Army's special force (Kopassus) was arrested in a hotel room for illegal possession of two guns, a grenade and dozens of bullets, an officer said on Friday.

City Police Detectives Chief Sr. Comr. Hary Montolalu said the man, identified as Boyke Praman Jaya Runturambi, was arrested at 11 p.m. on Monday in a room on the 31st floor of a five-star hotel on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, during a raid led by chief of the police's criminal unit Adj. Comr. Didik Suyadi.

"We seized a military-standard FN-45 pistol, dozens of bullets and military clothing in the room," he said.

Hary said police then checked the 27-year-old suspect's house in the state electricity company PLN housing complex, Senayan, Central Jakarta, where they found several more military items, including six military knives and Kopassus uniforms.

Police then went to the house of Boyke's parents in the Jakarta Military Command housing complex, where they seized two bullet-proof jackets and more ammunition, he said.

Besides claiming to be a Kopassus member, the suspect once introduced himself as a security manager of PT SA Water Indonesia, said Hary.

"People believed that Boyke was a Kopassus member because he always carried a gun," he said.

During preliminary questioning, the suspect admitted to having obtained the guns from a man, identified as Agus, who resided in the Kopassus housing complex in Cijantung, East Jakarta. Police are still looking for Agus.

Boyke said he obtained bullets from members of the Indonesian Target Shooting and Hunting Association (Perbakin) while the grenade was obtained from an Army officer, identified as Imansyah, in exchange for an FN-45 pistol.

The suspect claimed that his Kopassus identification card was ordered from an officer named Suyatno in 1999, but the latter has denied issuing the card.

Harry said the arrest of Boyke was made following a police blitz designed to counter increasing occurrences of armed robbery in the city.

He said the suspect had violated the Emergency Law 12/1951 on illegal possession of guns and explosive materials, which carries a maximum penalty of the death sentence. (jun)