Aceh Police Seize 27 Illegal Firearms

BY NURDIN HASAN

 Ins. Gen. Iskandar Hasan (L) and by his spokesman Sr. Comr Gustav Leo  DEDEK PARTA PHOTO

Banda Aceh, TAG – The Aceh police chief Ins. Gen. Iskandar Hasan has said that police in the province had confiscated 27 illegal firearms and arrested three people on the 20 days long operation since 21 February.

The illegal weapons seized consist of seven automatic rifles, 11 pistols and nine airsoft-guns along with more than 200 of ammunitions and six explosive devices, he said during a press conference on Monday.

Police also arrested three people of Aceh who held firearms illegally during the operation called ‘Kilat Rencong 2012’, Iskandar said. Kilat means ‘lightning’ and Rencong is the name for Aceh’s distinctive traditional kris-like dagger.

Despite the operation has ended in 11 March, the police in the region that located on the northern tip of Sumatra island still conducting routine operations to track down the illegal firearms and explosive devices, Iskandar said.

Previously, the Aceh police chief said he predicted some 800 to 1,000 firearms still being kept illegally in the hands of Acehnese. All those believed to be weapons of the conflict that still being kept by the locals.

Before police conducting the ‘Kilat Rencong 2012’ operation, Iskandar issued an ultimatum to Acehnese who still keeping firearms and explosive illegally to surrender to local police force by 20 February.

The declaration of a weeklong notice permitting the public to hand over the illegally held weapons and explosives without suffering legal sanctions had netted a paltry three firearms and found six others after reporting by locals.

In January, Iskandar has said that Aceh police received some 43 weapons, dozens grenades and more than 7,000 ammunitions from residents in the province last year.[]