Police capture five escapees marijuana remains missing
The Jakarta Post, Apriadi Gunawan, Medan
Local police have recaptured five of the 61 former detainees who escaped from their cells at the Binjai Police lockup late in September, but the 1.5 tons of marijuana that was taken during the two-day battle between elements of the Army and police, remains missing.
Binjai Police precinct chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Bambang Waskito said here that the five inmates were captured in several places around North Sumatra during an operation last week.
In a bid to catch the prisoners still at large, Bambang said the police had put them on a wanted list distributed to police precincts and stations across the province.
Bambang was speaking after attending a closed-door meeting between outgoing provincial police chief Insp. Gen. Ansyad Mbai and his successor Insp. Gen. I Gede Dewa Astika at the North Sumatra Police headquarters here.
Astika will officially take over from Ansyad on Tuesday.
The violent incident took place when dozens of Army soldiers from the 100th Airborne Unit attacked the police precinct on Sept, 29, leaving 12 dead, including civilians. There were reports that the assault was related to a drug dealer in custody and the marijuana, which had earlier been seized by police as evidence.
North Sumatra Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Amrin Karim said during the meeting, that Ansyad briefed Astika on the general security conditions in he province and several outstanding cases, including the attack in Binjai, illegal logging and palm oil smuggling.
Amrin said Ansyad admitted during the meeting that there were many things to be done regarding the investigation of the Binjai incident.
The spokesman said the police were continuing the search for the missing marijuana and the remaining inmates.
He stated that the police would find it difficult to recover the marijuana, which he said could easily be hidden or quickly distributed.
"Maybe the marijuana has been sold or already consumed by its buyers. We have not ruled out those possibilities, because so far, we have been unable to regain it," Amrin said.
Amrin also said that they were still "in the dark" about who took the drugs with a street value of billions of rupiah.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu has apologized for the incident and discharged 20 soldiers for their involvement in the shootout. All of the soldiers in the airborne unit were reportedly transferred.
Later Ryamizard announced the replacement of Bukit Barisan Military commander, which oversees North Sumatra, Maj. Gen. Idris Gassing with Brig. Gen. Tritamtomo, the current Jakarta Military Garrison chief. The transfer will take place on Wednesday.
The National Police and the Indonesian Military formed a joint inquiry team in the wake of the armed clash.
A non-governmental organization revealed that the incident showed how police and soldiers squabble over control of the lucrative drug trade. It said many illegal businesses here were able to thrive due to what has generally been attributed to protection money that criminal gangs pay to police or military personnel.