Jakarta Men Arrested for Alleged Unlicensed Sale of Airsoft Guns

Bayu Marhaenjati & Zaky Pawas

Jakarta Police arrested two men accused of selling unlicensed airsoft guns on social networking sites last week.

The men, identified only as “D” and “A.G.,” were stood next to a table of realistic-looking airsoft guns in a press conference on Monday.

Police seized 187 airsoft guns, including replicas of pistols and assault rifles, in the raid.

“They sold the guns at fairly low prices, from Rp 3 million ($312) to Rp 6 million for the [assault rifles],” Jakarta Police official Adj. Sr. Comr. Herry Heryawan told reporters.

If the airsoft gun came with a fake certificate from the Indonesian Shooters Union (Perbakin) the price was higher, he said.

Herry estimated that the pair could bring in up to Rp 500 million during their one year of operation.

The men would need to sell 83 of their priciest airsoft guns, or 166 of their cheapest models to reach that estimate.

The airsoft guns were imported from China and Taiwan through a licensed importer. The men did not have a license to sell the merchandise.

Instead, the airsoft guns were sold on Facebook and the Indonesian forum Kaskus.

The men were arrested after police discovered their online shops while investigating a vandalism spree in Jakarta.

The two men face up to 15 years in jail for violating Indonesia’s firearm and explosive possession regulations under the 1951 Emergency Law, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said.