A gold miner identified as MA, 21, was arrested on a beach in Nabire, Papua, for possessing an illegal firearm, a magazine and 12 bullets during a raid conducted by Papua Police on Friday at around 9:30 a.m. local time.
We are still investigating how he [MA] got the weapon and the reason why
he had the gun,” said Papua Police deputy chief Brig. Gen Paulus
Waterpauw on Friday.
This is the second arrest after police
nabbed two civilians, HE and AN, in Manokwari, West Papua, on Saturday.
They were caught after making a weapon transaction.
“We found
out about HE and AN after we received information from some residents.
They were riding on their motorcycle when we nabbed them. We found a
handgun and seven rounds of 38-caliber ammunition in the seat of their
motorcycle,” said Papua Police spokesman Adj. Comr. I Gede Sumerta Jaya.
Both HE and AN confessed they received the gun from Ambon, Maluku.
Based
on a series of investigations, Paulus added, many illegal firearms in
Papua, including airsoft guns, were shipped from Ambon. Head of the
Papua chapter of the Indonesian Shooting Association (Perbakin), John
Banua Rouw, said there were around 500 unauthorized airsoft guns in the
province.