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ozens of farmers thronged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters in Jakarta on Monday to thank the antigraft body for the arrest of Karawang Regent Ade Swara, which they said had shed light on dirty practices carried out by land gangs in the region.

'€œThe arrest gives hope to farmers whose land has been '€˜stolen'€™ on a large scale by state officials through illegitimate court orders,'€ Karawang Farmers Association spokesman Rizal said at the KPK headquarters on Monday.

Rizal urged the KPK to continue its investigation into other alleged dirty practices surrounding the takeover of farmers'€™ land in Karawang that involved other state officials, adding that most of the land takeovers took place using force against local farmers.

'€œThere has been a lot of land '€˜stolen'€™ using force. It is now [time] to reveal other cases in Karawang,'€ Rizal added.

The association also urged the KPK to investigate alleged bribery surrounding the issuance of a court ruling that granted PT Sumber Air Mas Pratama (SAMP), a subsidiary of PT Agung Podomoro Land, rights over disputed land in Teluk Jambe, Karawang.

'€œWe also urge the KPK to investigate PT SAMP, which was owned by PT Agung Podomoro Land through an acquisition, and to question other state officials such as the head of the West Java Police, Karawang Police head and the head of the Karawang District Court, who caused residents from three villages to be displaced from their own land,'€ said Hilal Tamami from the association.

The farmers gave crops such as cassava, bananas, coconuts and peanuts to express their gratitude for what the KPK had done for Karawang.

In relation to the extortion case, Gerindra Party politician Ade and his wife Nurlatifah, a local lawmaker in Karawang who is also from Gerindra, were arrested for allegedly extorting executives of PT Tatar Kertabumi, another subsidiary of PT Agung Podomoro Land, in return for issuing a permit to build a mall on disputed land in Karawang.

The KPK alleged that Ade asked his wife to demand around Rp 5 billion (US$432,077) in cash from Tatar Kertabumi for his services in issuing the permit.

Ade and Nurlatifah asked the company to prepare the money in the form of dollar banknotes.

The KPK arrested Nurlatifah along with Ade'€™s brother and five other people, including executives from Tatar Kertabumi, at Ade'€™s residence in Karawang on the night of July 16. The KPK nabbed Ade on July 17.

The KPK arrested eight people in total in the operation, but later released the other six after finding strong evidence suggesting that only Ade and his wife had committed offenses in the case.

'€œKPK investigators have concluded that criminal acts took place in the case, in the form of extortion committed by ASW and NLF,'€ KPK chairman Abraham Samad said last week, referring to Ade and Nurlatifah.