T

he police have vowed to suppress the illegal production of homemade firearms due to their increasing use by criminals.

'€œMany criminals use homemade firearms nowadays. The firearms we have confiscated from criminals vary in quality. We have seen as evidence poorly made guns and ones which are almost as good as those made in factories,'€ spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto told reporters on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the Jakarta Police apprehended seven members of an armed motorcycle robbery gang. They were armed with three homemade firearms, which eyewitnesses said were used to threaten motorcyclists before the gang stole their motorcycles.

On Sunday, a man was questioned about the presence of a homemade firearm in his luggage at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. Rikwanto explained that such cases were not isolated and even though the firearms in question were homemade, they were just as dangerous as factory-made weapons.

'€œHomemade guns may be simple, but they are lethal. They'€™re less accurate, but they can be used to shoot a person dead from close range,'€ he said.

Owning firearms without an official permit from the National Police is illegal under the 1951 Emergency Law on firearm usage. Anyone found guilty of receiving, making or firing a gun without an official permit could face a maximum 20-year prison or life sentence.

In order to counteract the spread of homemade guns, the police are attempting to track down their production spots.

Rikwanto said that the police would investigate craftsmen who had the ability to make firearms similar to the ones produced in factories.

He explained that many craftsmen were tempted to make illegal firearms because their price in the black market could range between Rp 5 million (US$418.59) and Rp 15 million per unit. The craftsmen only needed an example of the type of gun in order to copy it, he added.

In 2013, the Jakarta Police raided a homemade weapons manufacturer in Cipacing, Bandung, West Java. In the course of that raid, the police discovered that gunsmiths were supplying guns to terror suspects.

Rikwanto said that the police had recently gone into the area again to make sure that illegal production of firearms in the area had ceased and that no craftsmen were supplying guns to criminals.

'€œWe will continue our efforts to confiscate homemade firearms and track down their producers. We hope that craftsmen will no longer make guns and supply them to criminals,'€ he said. (fss)