29 arrested over alleged car thefts

JAKARTA (JP): City Police have arrested 29 men over 106 vehicles stolen in Jakarta and its surrounding areas in the last three weeks.

Chief of the City Detectives for General Affairs Lt. Col. Bakat Purwanto said Thursday 17 were thieves, eight were buyers and four were brokers.

"The suspects were arrested during the last three weeks. We also seized the 106 cars from them," Bakat said Thursday.

He said the suspects, who had been operating for a year, stole the vehicles from public parking lots and residential areas using master keys.

"Sometimes the suspects broke car windshields and drove away at high speed," he said.

Bakat said the suspects cooperated with a workshop employee to produce fake ignition keys.

Some suspects said they also cooperated with employees of a car rental firm. With a list of people who rented cars the suspects, pretending to be the firm's employees, told the people their rental contract with the company was not in order, he said.

"The suspects told them to bring the cars back to the firm, but they stole the vehicles instead," Bakat said.

The vehicles were sold to buyers through brokers, he said. (jun/05)