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)