Private drivers on 'inside' track in auto theft<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Vehicle owners may want to be more careful in
\nsizing up prospective private drivers, or even take another look
\nat the one they have already, particularly if an expensive make
\nof car will be in their hands.<\/p>\n
Police say drivers were accomplices in more than a third of
\nrecent cases of auto theft reported in the city.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police detectives chief Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo
\nrevealed the complicity of drivers in 33 cases of the 83 vehicle
\nthefts reported from March to last weekend.<\/p>\n
\"Although we haven't found all of the missing cars, based on
\nour preliminary investigation we learned that private drivers
\ncooperated with auto theft groups in the crime,\" Alex said on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
\"I'd like to warn the public to be careful in selecting new
\ndrivers.\"<\/p>\n
According to the officer, most of the accused drivers were
\nnewly hired.<\/p>\n
Under the coordination of vehicle theft gangs with well-
\nestablished connections with notorious fencers for stolen cars,
\nthe drivers would focus on jobs driving luxury cars, such as
\nMercedes Benz sedans, BMWs and Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps. The
\npreference also extended to Suzuki jeeps of the Escudo, Sidekick
\nand Vitara makes whose keys are difficult to duplicate, Alex
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Police also learned that most of the drivers were former petty
\ncriminals.<\/p>\n
After being reported stolen, the cars were usually driven to
\nillegal car markets in the West Java capital of Bandung and other
\nnearby towns, such as Karawang, to be put on sale with fake
\ndocuments, the officer said.<\/p>\n
Actress<\/p>\n
One of the accused drivers is Santoso, alias Budi, 31, who was
\narrested for alleged involvement in the theft of a Mercedes Benz
\nsedan belonging to actress Misye Arsita, the star of the popular
\nJin dan Jun TV comedy.<\/p>\n
Santoso previously worked as a vegetable seller, driver of a
\nbajaj (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) and public minivan before
\nbeing hired by Misye in April.<\/p>\n
He insisted on Sunday that he did not want to steal the car
\nbut was \"forced\" by his friends, who repeatedly assured him that
\nhe could borrow money through mortgaging his employer's metallic
\ngreen sedan.<\/p>\n
\"It's my friends who stole Ibu Misye's car. I only planned to
\nmortgage it.\"<\/p>\n
He said he desperately needed money for his ailing daughter
\nand to cover his father's huge debt. He said he asked Misye to
\nlend him Rp 5 million (US$695) but she refused.<\/p>\n
His friends, knowing that Misye rejected his request for a
\nloan, urged him to \"mortgage\" the car.<\/p>\n
A few days later, he drove Misye to a shoot and then went to
\nhis home where his friend and neighbor Teddy was waiting.<\/p>\n
\"It was Teddy who sold the car to a man in Karawang,\" Santoso
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Teddy is still at large.<\/p>\n
Santoso claimed that he was arrested before Teddy gave him his
\nshare of the money.<\/p>\n
Never thought<\/p>\n
Misye, who visited Jakarta Police Headquarters on Sunday to
\nthank officers for tracking her sedan, said she never thought her
\ndriver was involved in the theft.<\/p>\n
She said Santoso convinced her that he was robbed.<\/p>\n
\"If I knew that he's going to steal the car, I would never
\nhave hired him. I can drive the car myself,\" she said.<\/p>\n
According to Alex, Misye's Mercedes Benz sedan was among the
\n19 vehicles found in a series of raids by city police detectives
\nrecently.<\/p>\n
All of the vehicles are on display at a parking lot at Jakarta
\nPolice headquarters to allow the public to reclaim their stolen
\nvehicles.<\/p>\n
They include a light brown Toyota Land Cruiser, a red BMW
\nsedan, a dark blue Ford Laser sedan, a red Sidekick jeep and a
\nDaihatsu Feroza jeep.<\/p>\n
Alex said the cars were seized from 12 suspects in the past
\ntwo weeks.<\/p>\n
Based on the preliminary investigation, the 12 people worked
\nfor different groups, each of which had three or four members.<\/p>\n
Police are searching for four other suspects.<\/p>\n
Alex warned car owners not to be fooled by first impressions.<\/p>\n
\"Everybody sets out to impress their employers at the
\nbeginning. But we have to wait until we can really trust them,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"Just be careful. I think it's better to hire relatives or
\npeople already close to us as our private drivers.\" (emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/private-drivers-on-inside-track-in-auto-theft-1447893297",
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