L

ocals and out-of-towners alike have flocked to Jl. Bango Raya in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, over the last week to search for gemstones believed to have been buried by a Chinese family decades ago.

While some were busy digging holes within a 3,000-square-meter plot of land under the hot sun, others were selling the spoils of their treasure hunt.

'I found out from the TV that there was treasure here,' said Irul, 32, a mikrolet (public minivan) driver from Bogor, West Java. 'That is why I came here.'

Besides people from Bogor and Jakarta, the buried treasure has also attracted people from Depok in West Java and Tangerang in Banten.

'I have stopped driving my mikrolet because I want to try my luck at finding gems,' Irul added.

Mahmud, a local resident who is reaping the benefit of these new visitors by collecting parking fees, told The Jakarta Post that the land was once owned by a Chinese family, who were known to collect various gemstones. The family buried them for security.

Some years ago, he said, the city administration demolished the house that had once sat on the land to give a way for the construction of a 21.7-kilometer long toll road between Depok and Antasari in South Jakarta. The head of the local community unit (RW) stumbled across a big piece of jade in the vicinity of the old building last month.

As word began to spread about the lucky find, the RW head sold the jade for Rp 60 million (US$5,220), people jumped on the bandwagon and, digging tools in hand, congregated at the site, Mahmud continued.

Since the news of the hidden treasure was picked up by the press, the numbers of people visiting Pondok Labu has increased and Jl. Bango Raya is always jammed with visitors.

Sarnan, 43, from Cinere in Depok, said on Friday that he had collected around 100 kilograms of uncut gemstones over the past two days and he had sold half of his bounty and reaped Rp 600,000.

'I would have earned more if I had polished the gemstones before I sold them,' said Sarnan, adding that each uncut gemstone could be sold for between Rp 20,000 and Rp 300,000, depending on color, type and size.

According to Sarnan, the treasure hunters use simple tools like hammers and crowbars to excavate the site, which contains rubies, crystals, jade and black opals. Stone polisher Harto, 51, visited Pondok Labu on Friday to buy uncut gems

'A cut and polished gemstone can fetch millions of rupiah,' said Harto, adding that the quality of uncut stones found in Pondok Labu was good and their colors interesting.

'This is a 'pancawarna' stone that shines and radiates multiple colors,' Harto said, explaining the stone he held in his hand.

He said he would set the stone in a ring.

Mahmud said more people came to dig in the evening because they worked in the day time.

'They use flashlight to help them in their search,' he said. (alz)