"We had to pick up the hoodlums because they had become a nuisance to passengers," Commissioner Udik Tanang, head of operations of the police station at the airport.
The police action codenamed Operation Pekat Jaya was to restore the sense of comfort and safety of passengers at Indonesia`s largest airport, he said.
The operation was conducted in cooperation with airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II which had also deemed the hoodlums` presence as being detrimental to its business.
They consisted of air ticket scalpers, unregistered porters and drivers of unauthorized taxis who hang out around the airport every day.
The police had actually repeatedly rounded them up and sometimes detained them but they always came back to continue their activity at the airport, he said.
In Thursday`s operation, the police had deployed 75 officers who were assisted by tens of airport security personnel.
Udik said the 50 men taken into custody would be processed according to the law and be charged based on penal articles on mild criminal behavior.
Ticket scalpers often offered tickets at prices far above the permissible level and were thus harming passengers. Sometimes passengers who had bought their tickets from scalpers discovered too late the tickets were flawed so they could not make their flights. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
