No arrests made in police raids on two discotheques
No arrests made in police raids on two discotheques
JAKARTA (JP): The West Jakarta police have released all of the nightclubbers who were caught in a special crackdown on "Ecstasy" users and traffickers at two discotheques on Saturday night.
According to police officers, an unspecified number of clubbers were freed after being interrogated for several hours.
"So far, we have no evidence to put them in jail and charge them as users alongside the traffickers of Ecstasy," said Lt. Col. Hari Pribadi, chief of the West Jakarta police precinct.
According to Hari, the clubbers were brought to nearby Taman Sari police subprecinct for questioning after being collared at the raids on Zodiac and Atlanta discotheques.
"The Ecstasy seized in the raid was found in several places, such as under tables and inside the toilet," Hari said.
The Zodiac discotheque, known as one of the largest night clubs in Southeast Asia, is located on the eight floor of Glodok Plaza.
Atlanta discotheque is on Jl. Raya Mangga Besar, home to dozens of massage parlors and other entertainment centers.
As of yesterday, the number of people arrested and pills confiscated was still uncertain.
According to Hari, the raid ended with 16 men questioned and 94 pills of different colors and forms seized.
Strangely enough, his deputy, Maj. A.C. Zebua, told The Jakarta Post that 18 people, and 250 Ecstasy pills were seized. Some of the clubbers were found to be Ecstasy retailers, Zebua said.
He also said one woman was found with some pills and a few grams of dried marijuana.
Zebua's data matched with the figures reported by a local paper on Monday, one of whose reporters was at the scene when the operation was carried out. The paper said that police also confiscated a knife and some pornographic magazines from the two discotheques.
When asked whether some police officers might perhaps have stolen the pills to sell them on themselves, City Police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna laughed and claimed that such an idea was baseless.
"We are waging war on all drug traffickers and users," Iman said. "So we will not hesitate to hand down severe punishment to any of our personnel involved in such illegality," he said.
According to a police detective of the Taman Sari police precinct, the sale of Ecstasy at the entertainment places had been closely watched for many days.
The officer, who refused to be named, said that retailers sell the Ecstasy pills at prices ranging from Rp 50,000 (US$21.70) to Rp 100,000, depending on the types.
He said the pill is usually swallowed with mineral water. "A small bottle of mineral water at these two places sells for Rp 10,000, 10 times more than the original price," he added.
Most of the discotheques visitors prefer to buy water, rather than beer, he noted.
The raid on Saturday evening, led by Hari, involved 132 personnel.
None of the executives of the discotheques were questioned.
"They have nothing to do with their customers' activities," said Hari.
However, head of the City Public Order Office, Kuseini Budiantoro, pledged to close down the two discotheques if there is strong enough evidence for the role of their executives in the illegal business.
"In the meantime, we'll give them a strong warning," Kuseini said.
Kuseini has also issued similar threats for three other discotheques: the B-One, Pit Stop and Purnama, following police raids which uncovered a number of illicit drugs.(bsr/04/yns)