Military to wages war against drug syndicates

Military to wages war against drug syndicates

JAKARTA (JP): The military has promised to wage war on drug
syndicates, a senior officer said yesterday.

Chief of the Jakarta Agency for the Coordination and Support
for the Development of National Stability Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso said
a war on drug syndicates was needed to curb the spread of drugs
in Indonesia.

"Once I heard that the Customs and Excise office was
threatened by a drug syndicate, the military became ready to
respond," the two-star general, who also heads the Jakarta
Military Command, told Antara after the airborne artillery's 51st
anniversary.

Sutiyoso referred to reports from the Directorate General of
Tax and Excise about frequent threats from drug syndicates after
drug busts by customs officials.

"The customs officials do not need to worry about any threats.
Just report to us and we, the military and police force, will
take the proper steps to respond to the threats," Sutiyoso said.

On Sunday, customs officers at the Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport arrested two Singaporeans for trying to
smuggle 70,431 Ecstasy pills into the country.

Most of the total of 239,048 Ecstasy pills seized by customs
and excise officers this year were confiscated in airports.

On Tuesday, the director general of Customs and Excise,
Soehardjo Soebandi said that customs and excise officers had
found a package containing tens of thousands of Ecstasy pills at
a post office. He declined to name the location of the post
office.

Guns

Sutiyoso also said the military had seized four guns from
civilians in recent crime crackdowns.

The crackdowns began Monday as part of a plan to stop the
recent spate of armed robberies in Jakarta. Most victims were
bank customers.

"One of the seized guns is an FN 46, which is officially used
by the Armed Forces. We are trying to find out who the owner is,"
Sutiyoso said.

All four guns are at the City Garrison while military police
investigate the illegal ownerships of the guns.

The guns are a FN-46, a Colt, a FN-32, and one gas pistol.
(sur)