Jakarta. A company affiliated with the Indonesian Shooting Association (Perbakin) has claimed ownership of nearly 1,000 firearms-related items discovered at a private school in South Jakarta, saying they were legally stored for student shooting sports activities.

Alhadid Endar Putra, president director of PT Lokta Karya Perbakin, said the equipment had been kept at the Harapan Ibu Islamic School Foundation for extracurricular shooting and archery programs.

"These are legally owned items. They are not firearms in the conventional sense but primarily airsoft guns used for sports and school extracurricular activities," Alhadid said on Friday.

He said the collection, consisting of 995 items, had been covered by a police permit issued in 2008 and had been stored at the school since 2021 with the knowledge of the foundation's previous management.

"Everything has the required permits. The question is why this has only become an issue now," he said.

According to Alhadid, most of the airsoft guns are no longer functional, which is why the school's shooting program was eventually discontinued.

The statement followed reports that South Jakarta Police had recovered firearms, airsoft guns and related items from a room previously occupied by the foundation's former chairman, identified only by the initials IWD.

Police have confirmed the discovery and are continuing to investigate the origin, ownership and legal status of the items.

The case emerged after IWD was dismissed from the foundation, prompting speculation that an internal dispute may have led to the discovery. The foundation operates schools from kindergarten through senior high school.

Foundation officials have disputed the company's account.

Board member Untung Sangaji previously said the discovery came as a complete surprise when administrators opened rooms that were being prepared for school use.

"When we opened the room for school purposes, we found the weapons. We had no idea why they were being kept on school grounds," Untung said.

The foundation's lawyer, Hermawanto, also claimed there was a concealed underground room resembling a bunker and urged police to force open the area and inspect its contents.

"We ask the police to act promptly because there is still a room we have not been able to open. We hope officers will immediately inspect the room, which resembles a bunker," he said during a visit to South Jakarta Police headquarters on Thursday.

Indonesian law imposes severe criminal penalties for the illegal possession of firearms. Authorities have not announced any criminal charges in connection with the items found at the school, and the investigation remains ongoing.

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