32 people arrested for role in 44 robberies
JAKARTA (JP): Police have arrested 32 people believed to have been involved in 44 bank customer robberies since January, stealing Rp 525 million (US$161,540) in cash.
The suspects were arrested in Jakarta and other cities, including Palembang in South Sumatra, in several raids conducted over the last few weeks, the head of Jakarta police detectives, Col. Paimin AB, told a press conference here yesterday.
"The detained suspects are members of two renowned syndicates, of about 50 people, who have admitted committing at least 39 of the 47 bank customer robberies this year alone," said Paimin, who was accompanied by spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna.
The cases include a robbery on Jl. Irian in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on April 2, when Mario Gondang, who had just come from a currency changer, was robbed of Rp 130 million.
Another robbery of Rp 37 million took place in front of the Ministry of Transportation office on Jl. Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta on May 13.
According to Paimin, one of the robbers syndicates comprised 40 people from Palembang. The other syndicate comprised 10 people from Jakarta.
Of the 32 suspects arrested, 26 were from the Palembang group. The other six suspects were from the Jakarta group, he said.
"The other members, whose identities are known, are still being hunted by our special team," he said.
Paimin said that efforts to paralyze the syndicates arose from his concern about the increasing number of robberies against bank customers in the city as reported by the local media.
"We then collected all data and media reports about the specific robberies and set up a joint team of detectives, including those at the police precincts," he said.
Equipped with a little information, the detectives started tracing the syndicates in early June, eventually arresting one suspect, he said.
"We could easily arrest the others because all of them knew each other well," he said.
Police seized some of the suspects' belongings believed to have been purchased using stolen cash and some of the tools used in their operations. The goods include six motorcycles, a mobile phone, a taxi, and a number of specially-made nails and needles.
"An FN .32 millimeter gun believed to have been used by one of the syndicates is still being looked for," Paimin said.
One of the suspects, Ayong, 32, said that he had been involved in at least 10 robberies since early July, making himself around Rp 1 million.
"Every month I sent Rp 400,000 to my wife, who is now six- months pregnant in Cirebon (West Java) and I used the rest for entertainment, including girls, here," he told The Jakarta Post.
According to Paimin, the syndicates usually carried out their operations in teams of two or four, some of the teams' members were assigned to observe customers carrying a lot of cash from the banks.
After identifying their targets, the teams waited for the customers in front of the banks or followed the customers' vehicles and punctured their tires at traffic lights using nails or needles, Paimin said.
"When the drivers started to examine the tires, the robbers quickly carried out their operation and left the scene on their speedy motorcycles," he said.
There have been no reports of similar robberies in the two weeks following the arrests, Paimin said.
"But it doesn't mean that customers are now safe to carry lots of money from banks, therefore, we'd like to remind customers that police can accompany them for free," spokesman Iman Haryatna said. (bsr)