Police arrest 5 suspected underwater cable thieves<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Water police have arrested five suspects for
\nstealing some 3,000-meter-long sea cables, about 1.5 tons in
\nweight, from an offshore oil platform located near Pabelokan
\nIsland, some 40 miles north of Jakarta, an officer said on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Water police chief Supt. Ramses Kamsuddin said the five were
\ncaught on Sunday as they were pulling up the cables, which were
\nplanted deep in the Java Sea.<\/p>\n
\"After receiving a tip-off from the public, police personnel
\nchecked out the scene and found the five suspects pulling the
\ncables on board the Arjuna motorboat.<\/p>\n
\"The suspects were eventually arrested at a harbor on Harapan
\nIsland of Seribu Islands marine resort, off North Jakarta bay
\nafter trying to escape from the police,\" Ramses told reporters at
\nhis office.<\/p>\n
The five were identified as Nurjali, 26, Sailan, 28, Sumarta,
\n20, Tamher, 17 and Sahroni, 34, all of whom are residents of
\nnearby islands within the Seribu Islands area.<\/p>\n
Ramses said evidence seized from the suspects included the
\nmotorboat, two compressors, diving equipment, a saw, three large
\nplastic drums and the cables.<\/p>\n
The large cables, belonging to Argentine-based oil exploration
\nfirm YPF-Maxus, are designed to conduct electricity currents to
\nsome offshore oil platforms owned by the company, Ramses said.<\/p>\n
\"The company is still calculating the losses,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Nurjali, one of the suspects, said the group had repeatedly
\nstolen cables over the past two months in separate locations.<\/p>\n
\"However, I forget the length of the cables stolen,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the group pulled up the cables, planted some 30
\ncentimeters below the sea-bed, to the surface.<\/p>\n
\"A diver tied one end of the cable with a rope and then
\nattached a large plastic drum.<\/p>\n
\"The diver, equipped with a compressor and diving equipment,
\nthen filled up the drum with air from the compressor,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the power generated from the compressor then propelled
\nthe drum upwards toward the surface, pulling the cable along with
\nit.<\/p>\n
\"Some people waited for the cables up on the Arjuna motorboat,
\nready to pull them in.<\/p>\n
\"Meanwhile, another diver looked for the other end of the
\ncable and cut it with a saw,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Tamher, another member of the group, said the group sold the
\ncopper wire, which had been separated from its rubber covering by
\nburning it off, to a buyer at nearby Kelapa Island.<\/p>\n
\"The copper wire was cut in pieces of 2-meters-long each and
\nwas then ready to be sold to the buyers,\" he said, adding that he
\nwas forced to steal the cables since he was a jobless.<\/p>\n
Ramses said the burglary was dangerous as the group might pick
\nactive cables.<\/p>\n
\"The cables supply many megawatts of electricity to the oil
\nplatforms, which is dangerous to humans and the surrounding
\nenvironment.<\/p>\n
\"However, the group succeeded in picking the non-active
\ncables, since they got information from a former employee of the
\ncompany, named Chaidir,\" he said, adding that Chaidir was a
\nformer diving supervisor at the company.<\/p>\n
\"We're looking for Chaidir, who acted also as the buyer of the
\ncopper.\"<\/p>\n
Ramses said the group's action was purely burglary.<\/p>\n
\"It had no relation to sabotage. The burglars stole the cables
\nfor the copper, which will be sold for Rp 8 million (US$940) a
\nton,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the group would be charged with violating Article 362
\nof the Criminal Code for stealing the cables.<\/p>\n
The Article carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail.
\n(asa)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-arrest-5-suspected-underwater-cable-thieves-1447893297",
"image": ""
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