Police crackdown on phonecards

YOGYAKARTA: Yogyakarta police have launched a special assignment this month for its 350 police officers: monitor the use of illegally refilled phonecards.

Yogyakarta Police Chief Col. Bani Siswono told The Jakarta Post that the assignment is conducted in cooperation with the local branch of the state-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom.

"They (PT Telkom) provide us with telecommunications facilities and we help them find the felons, including the producers and the sellers (of the illegal phonecards)," he said.

Bani said so far no arrests have been made. He called for the public's cooperation in the crackdown.

"Any information will be of great help to us," he said.

PT Telkom has long been complaining about the use of illegally refilled phonecards -- used cards which are refilled in such a way that they contain phone ticks which can then be used to make a call on a public telephone. (swa)