Police intensify operations to trace illegally-owned guns

Police intensify operations to trace illegally-owned guns

JAKARTA (JP): Police are intensifying street operations
following reports that wealthy people traumatized by the mid-May
riots have bought guns on the black market.

City police Chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said yesterday
that since Operasi Kilat Jaya (Greater Jakarta Lightening
Operations) started on July 1, the authorities have seized 10
guns from both members of the Armed Forces and civilians.

The guns were seized because the owners did not have the
necessary documents, he said.

Among the guns seized were an FN .22 caliber rifle, and .22
and .32 caliber Colts, he said.

He said that police officers had been deployed in public
places such as business centers, busy intersections and areas
like Cilegon, Tangerang and Bekasi where armed robbery was
commonplace.

"Crime hotspots have been put under round-the-clock
surveillance," he told The Jakarta Post. "We have also been
watching places where guns were allegedly sold and have uncovered
some leads."

To discover who is responsible for selling the guns, police
have been investigating each case which comes to light very
thoroughly, he added.

However, the police have so far refused to form a special team
to specifically handle the firearms black market on the grounds
that any such move would lead people to think that the problem
was more serious than it actually was, he said.

Noegroho's comments come amid media reports that armed
robberies in Greater Jakarta are on the rise and that guns can
easily be obtained on the black market.

Many wealthy Chinese-Indonesians and some expatriates have
reportedly obtained guns to defend themselves in anticipation of
fresh riots targeting them.

The reports said people can buy guns illegally in Kramat Jati
market in East Jakarta, Manggarai in South Jakarta and Senen
market in Central Jakarta.

A Colt .22 was sold for between Rp 4 million and Rp 5 million,
while an FN-45 or an FN-46 can be bought for between Rp 8 million
and Rp 10 million. The going price for an M-16 assault rifle is
Rp 20 million.

A GS 117 or GS 118, both of which fire tear gas canisters, can
be purchased for Rp 9 million. Tear gas canisters retail at Rp
500,000 each, according to the reports.

Noegroho said the authorities had found expatriates in
possession of guns capable of firing tear gas and were
investigating how and where these guns were obtained.

"To possess a gun one needs to go through very difficult
bureaucratic procedures, so we believe the guns we have recovered
were purchased illegally on the black market," he added.

Meanwhile, noted criminologist Adrianus Meliala from
University of Indonesia said that under the current circumstances
people could not be blamed for purchasing guns.

"Some people have bought guns because they feel insecure after
the mid-May riots. They (security officers) keep claiming that
Jakarta is safe but people see otherwise.

"Criminal acts are committed not only by crooks but by angry
mobs as well. That is something new and people are afraid of it.
So the police cannot forbid them from buying guns to defend
themselves," Adrianus told the Post.

Adrianus also pointed out that the people who were buying guns
were wealthy and that they were intended for self-defense, not
criminal activities.

What the police should do now, Adrianus said, was to intensify
security operations such as Kilat Jaya.

"People who have guns should also have the necessary
documents. The law should be upheld," he said. (edt)