Authorities in South Jakarta have launched a formal investigation into the ownership and provenance of nearly 1,000 weapons uncovered at a private Islamic school, marking one of the more unusual discoveries at an educational institution in the capital. The cache, found at the Harapan Ibu Islamic School Foundation in the Pondok Pinang district, also included suspected methamphetamine and marijuana, pornographic compact discs, and a concealed room constructed to resemble a military bunker, according to statements from South Jakarta Police spokesperson Adj. Comr. Joko Adiwibowo on Thursday.
The weapons came to light on July 10 when school administrators opened a sealed room they had planned to repurpose for educational activities at the campus. The discovery prompted officials to seek police assistance in accessing additional locked areas two days later, revealing a broader arsenal alongside ammunition-manufacturing equipment and instructional manuals for producing ammunition. The school's legal representative, Hermawanto, indicated that the foundation intends to request further police support to breach a final locked chamber suspected of containing additional materials, citing concerns about legal liability should school staff attempt to open it independently.
The weapons and related items were reportedly stored in a room belonging to a former school foundation chair identified only as IWD, who was removed from his position in April but maintained access to the locked space through retained keys. This detail has become crucial to the investigation, as it raises questions about oversight and governance at the institution. The extended period between IWD's dismissal and the discovery of the cache suggests a significant lapse in institutional control and monitoring of the premises, a concern that would resonate with parents and education authorities reviewing the school's management practices.
However, IWD and his legal counsel have contested the characterisation of the discovered items as genuine firearms. Through his lawyer, Alhadid Endar Putra, who serves as managing director of PT Lokta Karya Perbakin, IWD claimed that the vast majority of the weapons are legally licensed airsoft guns belonging to the company, which maintains official connections to Perbakin, Indonesia's target shooting and hunting association. Alhadid asserted that the equipment had been lawfully maintained at the school campus to support shooting and archery extracurricular programmes, supported by permits issued by police in 2008 and stored there since 2021 with the consent of earlier foundation management.
According to Alhadid's account, most of the airsoft weapons are non-functional and the associated shooting extracurricular activity terminated in 2022 following the death of the instructor identified as S. He further distanced IWD from the suspected narcotics and adult materials found at the school, contending that other parties with physical control of the premises in recent months bore responsibility for those items. His statements present a counter-narrative to the school foundation's position, introducing complexity to an already multifaceted investigation that will require careful examination of documentation, testimony, and physical evidence.
The school foundation has firmly rejected IWD's explanation, with staff members claiming that educators with long tenure at the institution have consistently denied that shooting was ever offered as an extracurricular activity. This contradiction strikes at the credibility of the permits and storage justification offered by IWD's legal team. The foundation's pushback suggests either that IWD's account misrepresents the circumstances under which the weapons were stored, or that school leadership failed to maintain knowledge of activities occurring within their facilities—neither scenario reflecting positively on institutional governance.
Jakarta Police investigations subsequently identified a deceased individual, referred to as DS and who died in 2020, as the weapons' original owner, though authorities declined to elaborate on his relationship to the school foundation or reasons his collection remained on campus years after his death. This revelation introduces yet another layer of complexity, indicating that the weapons may have been abandoned or forgotten rather than deliberately stored as part of an active programme. The involvement of a deceased individual raises questions about whether proper procedures for handling the estate and its contents were observed, and whether the school foundation had legitimate authority to retain such materials.
Of the nearly 1,000 weapons catalogued during the police investigation, 995 were confirmed as air guns with no functional lethality. However, one weapon—a Franchi SPAS-15 12-gauge shotgun—represents a genuine firearm capable of causing serious harm. This single live weapon's presence at an educational facility serving minors constitutes a particularly grave concern and may trigger enhanced legal scrutiny. The identification of this weapon, regardless of other items' classification, potentially escalates the severity of charges and penalties that authorities might pursue against responsible parties.
Sr. Comr. Budi Hermanto, Jakarta Police spokesperson, indicated that investigators will conduct detailed questioning of IWD to establish the origin, lawful ownership documentation, permit validity, precise storage arrangements, and stated purposes for maintaining such an extensive arsenal at a school. The investigation will likely require cross-referencing claimed permits from 2008 with police records, interviewing current and former school staff, examining the company PT Lokta Karya Perbakin's operational history and legitimacy, and determining how a deceased individual's collection became stored in a building serving hundreds of students.
The incident reflects broader concerns about security and oversight at private educational institutions across Indonesia, particularly regarding access control and inventory management of potentially dangerous materials. For Malaysian observers and regional education stakeholders, the case underscores the importance of rigorous vetting procedures, comprehensive facility audits, and clear protocols for managing inherited or abandoned property within school compounds. The discovery also highlights gaps in coordination between school governance bodies and relevant authorities that might identify such anomalies before they accumulate to troubling proportions.
As South Jakarta Police proceed with their investigation, several critical determinations remain pending: the legitimacy of all permit documentation, the precise timeline of when items arrived and how long they remained stored, the extent of knowledge and approval by various school leadership iterations, and the criminal liability of individuals involved in storing weapons and narcotics at an educational facility. The case will likely establish important precedents regarding institutional accountability and proper management of school properties, with implications extending beyond South Jakarta to educational institutions nationwide navigating similar questions of security, governance, and community safety.
