The Jakarta Police announced on Thursday they had confiscated over 150 unlicensed air soft guns following a series of shootings in Jakarta in the last three weeks. The National Police are also on alert given 11 recorded similar incidents in 10 days in Yogyakarta since Aug. 1. No serious injuries have been reported.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said since the operation held on Wednesday in Greater Jakarta, the police had confiscated illegal air soft guns comprising 33 long rifles and 124 pistols.

'We have investigated four air soft gun shops in South Jakarta and Depok [West Java] which have no legal permits to sell the guns,' Rikwanto said.

He said police had arrested five suspects, consisting of shop owners and traders. They only asked for copies of ID cards and photos of their buyers in selling the guns instead of the mandatory member cards of the national shooting association.

'According to the Emergency Law No. 12/1951 on Illegal Firearms Possession and National Police Law No. 8/2012, air soft guns can only be used for sport activities, and the owners should have membership cards from Perbakin [The Indonesian Shooting and Hunting Association],' he said.

To obtain the card, applicants should fulfill requirements including medical verification of their physical and mental conditions and recommendations from the police.

Rikwanto said Perbakin was the only legal importer of air soft guns with a permit from the National Police. Therefore non members carrying such weapons were considered criminals.

'Illegal air soft gun owners or traders could be charged to up to 20 years imprisonment as stipulated in Article No. 1 of the Emergency Law No. 12/1951 on Illegal Firearms Possession,' Rikwanto said.

The city police's intelligence unit chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Merdi Syam said Perbakin had imported 500 air soft guns in 2008 for sport activities, and that the association had not imported the guns since then.

'Every year, the National Police orders raids on illegal air soft guns,' Merdi said. 'Last year, we confiscated 201 illegal air soft guns and 89 in 2011.'

Rikwanto said that the suspects had sold illegal air soft guns for around two years, priced between Rp 2.5 million (US$242.5) and Rp 5 million per unit.

He said an air soft gun is a firearm replica, causing light injuries.

'However, the bullet can break your skin and make you bleed if shot at close range,' he said.

One of the suspected shop owners said that he knew the regulations but they were never enforced, as supplies were relatively easy for traders like him, including from outside the country.

'I have been selling the guns for two years now and no one saw me as an illegal seller, so why now?' he said.

Rikwanto said police would also investigate Perbakin members and arrest them if suspected to be abusing their licenses,' he said. The public should understand they were not toys, he added. (ian)

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