Kopassus impostor busted in hotel raid

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)