Amid their efforts to curb gun violence in the city, the Jakarta Police arrested on Monday two of its former officers for allegedly supplying weapons used in a series of robberies in Jakarta and Karawang, West Java.
Police mobile detectives chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Herry Heryawan told reporters that one of the former officers, identified by his initials WN, was an ex-adjutant of the former Jakarta Police chief, Sofjan Jacob, while the other, DE, was a former traffic police officer.
"WN allegedly rented out guns for prices ranging from Rp 500,000 [US$52] to Rp 1 million to several gangs of robbers since 2008. [One of the] guns was used in the holdup of employees from a gas station in Karawang," Herry said, adding that the robbery was the biggest case involving WN and DE.
On Nov. 17, a gang robbed two employees from the Sukasari Pamanukan gas station in Karawang. The employees were en route to a bank to transfer the station's weekly revenues of Rp 380 million when the robbers, who had studied their routine, followed them to the Karawang toll road in two minivans.
The robbers broke one of the windows on the victims' car, while another pointed the gun at the driver, forcing him to pull over. The thieves stole the money and dumped their victims near the Suryacipta industrial estate in Karawang.
Besides WN and DE, the police also arrested six men allegedly involved in that attack on Nov. 18 in Karawang. Five more suspects were still at large, Herry said.
City police detective chief Sr. Comr. Toni Harmanto said they were continuing to investigate where the robbers got their firearms. "We are coordinating with West Java Police because robberies took place in both regions," he said.
According to Herry, WN and DE were both ousted from the force for violating firearms regulations.
"WN was fired in 2000 after being involved in a fight with a civilian, which ended in the civilian suffering a gunshot wound. DE was dismissed in 2003 for being implicated in a murder case in Jakarta," Herry said.
In the past few years, the city has seen a spike in gun violence. In October, a motorcyclist was shot by an unidentified motorcyclist at the Meruya intersection in West Jakarta after the two were involved in a minor traffic accident.
A few days later, a 45-year-old woman, identified as Liong Lenny Ermawaty, was fatally shot by an unidentified motorcyclist on Jl. Cidodol Raya, South Jakarta.
Police have ruled out robbery as the motive for the killing, sparking suspicions that the woman was the target of a professional hit man, which raises more concerns over gun trading in the city. – JP/nad