Anticipate the movement and pursuit of KKB armed criminal groups

Anticipate the movement and pursuit of KKB armed criminal groups

Papua Regional Police Chief, Inspector General of Police Paulus Waterpauw, revealed that currently the joint TNI-Polri apparatus continues to make efforts to pursue law enforcement against the armed Criminal Group (KKB) in Tembagapura, Mimika.

"The TNI-Polri joint apparatus is still trying to take firm and measured legal actions against this group to limit them from entering villages in the Tembagapura region," the police chief said.

The Kapolda admitted that currently around 3,000 joint TNI-Polri personnel had been deployed to pursue and enforce the law against the KKB in Tembagapura.

"From the police there are around 2,000 personnel who have been on standby, then from the TNI about 1,000 personnel so that in total there are around 3,000 personnel who are alerted for law enforcement against criminal groups in Tembagapura," said the police chief.

The Kapolda also admitted that at this time the authorities had succeeded in controlling four villages in Tembagapura which had been controlled by armed criminal groups last week. Even now criminal groups have retreated to the mountainous regions.

"Now our members have taken control of the place or villages that were once controlled by the Armed Criminal Group (KKB) and currently the situation in the village is much better. "The criminal group has retreated to the area around Opitawak, an area on a bald mountain far from Tembagapura," he explained.

The Kapolda said that the terror committed by the KKB was very frightening to the community, so that the apparatus as the person in charge of security was obliged to provide security to create a safe and conducive situation for the community.

"We continue to pursue law enforcement against this group because they are very frightening citizens. When people feel insecure because they are terrorized by this group, our duty is to enforce the law, "said the police chief.

The former North Sumatra Police Chief explained that thousands of Tembagapura residents had fled to Timika because of fear of acts committed by criminal groups.

"People choose to flee because this group always disturbs the comfort of the residents. That awareness emerged from the community, not us who urged them to evacuate. They are quite traumatized by the events of 2017, "said the police chief.