Retired general's son caught with drugs, gun

JAKARTA (JP): West Jakarta Police detectives arrested the son of a retired Army lieutenant general for possession of guns without a legal permit and possession of drugs on Wednesday morning, officers said.

Sources at the West Jakarta Police and the Jakarta Police identified the suspect as Haryogi Maulana, the son of former State Intelligence Coordinating Body chief Lt. Gen. (ret) Zaini Azhar Maulani.

After questioning the suspect for several hours, the West Jakarta Police, who in August last year stunned the public by announcing the arrest of the son of an active four-star Army general for possession of drugs, handed over Haryogi and all the evidence in his case to the Jakarta Police intelligence unit on Wednesday afternoon.

"We seized an unloaded AK-47 with serial number 4857 and its magazine, a Colt Walther number 271759 loaded with bullets and a small packet of white powder," a West Jakarta Police source said.

As in many criminal cases involving well-connected suspects, none of the police officers were willing to give their names.

Neither Maulani, also a former chief of the Tanjung Pura Military Command in Kalimantan, or any of the suspect's other relatives could be reached on Wednesday for comment.

A housemaid, Lestari, who works for one of Maulani's relatives living in the retired lieutenant general's house, could only confirm that Haryogi Maulana was the son of Maulani.

According to a police source, Haryogi was arrested on the 10th floor of a star-rated hotel in West Jakarta at about 2 a.m. on Wednesday.

The arrest was made by officers of the Tamansari subprecinct, the source added.

"When they found out who he was, the local officers then handed over the suspect to the West Jakarta Police," the source said.

Before being transferred to Jakarta Police Headquarters, journalists were allowed to see Haryogi.

The suspect, looking pale and dejected, refused to speak to the press, and none of his relatives who were present were willing to answer questions.

Separately, Col. Saleh Saaf of the National Police information unit said that Maulani, now 61, was known as a "very clean" Army general.

The grandfather of 12 served as an expert staff member for former minister of research and technology B.J. Habibie.

When Habibie was elected vice president, Maulani was appointed his secretary, later becoming Habibie's personal assistant when Habibie was named president. (ylt)