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Jakarta Police charge notorious ex-debt collector Umar Kei with drug abuse
Jakarta Police investigators arrested Umar Ohoitenan, alias Umar Kei, for alleged drug abuse on Aug
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span>Jakarta Police investigators arrested Umar Ohoitenan, alias Umar Kei, for alleged drug abuse on Aug. 12 in a hotel room in Senen, Central Jakarta.
The police subsequently named him as a suspect in the case, alleging that he was caught consuming sabu-sabu (crystal methamphetamine), during the raid.
After years in security and debt collection that gained his name infamy, Umar appeared to turn over a new leaf through his activities at a mass organization and in politics. But his latest arrest on drug charges has unearthed his past connections to crime.
The Maluku-born Umar chairs the Maluku Muslim Youth Front (FPMM). During the 2019 general election in April, he failed in his bid for a seat at the House of Representatives as the Maluku electoral district candidate of the Golkar Party.
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said that police also confiscated a revolver containing six bullets, 2.91 grams of crystal meth in five “plastic clips”, five mobile phones and a power bank during the raid. Police also arrested two other individuals, identified only as AS and ST.
In developments following the raid, the police detained another man, EB, in Kramat Pulo, Central Jakarta.
“Umar Kei had the money, AS was his right-hand man who was tasked with [delivering] the money. ST was allegedly ordered to buy the meth from EB,” Argo told the press on Wednesday.
“EB obtained the drugs in Kramat Pulo from suspect IK, who is on the DPO,” he added, referring to the police’s wanted list.
Argo said Umar had been charged with multiple articles under the 2009 Narcotics Law that could put him in prison from 20 years to life.
The police were also checking Umar’s license to own a firearm, which the suspected claimed he had purchased for self-defense.
Umar has issued a public apology addressed to his family and friends, while he reportedly confessed to police that he had been abusing drugs since 2005.
“On this occasion, I want to express my regret to all the people in Indonesia. I also apologize to all my friends, including those in the police and the military, [and] especially my large family,” he said as quoted by kompas.com on Wednesday.
He also stated that he was ready to take full responsibility for his drug habit.
This is not Umar’s first brush with the law. Umar is a known member of the so-called Kei group named after its leader, the notorious Jakarta underworld kingpin John Kei, who is said to be a family relation. John is currently serving time for murder at the high-security Nusakambangan prison in Cilacap, Central Java.
Umar is also known to have run a debt collecting business, through which he profited and bolstered his other ventures in security and parking.
Media records show that Umar was implicated in two other cases. In a land dispute case dating back to June 2011, Umar illegally erected a sign on a 3,933-square-meter plot of land on Jl. Inspeksi Kali Buaran in Pondok Kelapa subdistrict, East Jakarta. The sign read: “This belongs to PT Billy and Moon”.
The landowner, Suwin, reported Umar to the Jakarta Police on July 1, 2011, and Umar was charged under Article 167 of the Criminal Code for trespassing.
Umar, along with two “colleagues”, was also charged in connection with coordinating an assault against a journalist who was covering a hearing at the East Jakarta District Court. (vla)
