Bali cow rustlers arrested
I. Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar
Police in Bali arrested a 13-member gang of burglars on Monday for stealing 28 cows and terrorizing villagers.
The arrest of the suspects, who were all Balinese residents, was made after a one-week-long operation launched in three isolated villages near the town of Buleleng.
The police also confiscated the 28 stolen cows.
The suspects were finally captured at their hideout and were taken away to be interrogated by local police.
"Seven of the suspects were arrested today (Monday), the rest on Saturday and Sunday. We are still questioning them to find out all about their operation," Buleleng Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. M. Syafei said here on Monday.
The gang specialized in stealing livestock, particularly one type of highly valued Balinese-breed of cow, and had stolen dozens of cows from the mountainous villages of Kalopaksa, Pangkung Paruk, Ularan, in Seririt subdistrict, some 120 kilometers northwest of Denpasar.
The burglars had openly threatened villagers, often stoning villagers and ransacking several of their houses to ensure they kept mum.
"We have been told of several houses that were ransacked, so we launched an intelligence operation to gather any available field data on the incidents. It turned out that the incidents were closely related to a gang of burglars that targeted the area. I immediately ordered my men to put an end to the gang's raids as soon as possible," Syafei said.
He later described the operation as both difficult and exhausting. Police officers involved in the operation had not only to deal with frightened villagers, who were too scared to voluntarily offer any information to the police, but also with the area's treacherous terrain.
The isolated villages were located in mountains to the west of Buleleng. The area was full of rugged tracks, steep hills, deep ravines and hot, humid temperatures.
"Twenty kilometers of uphill trekking was a daily routine for my men during the operation. The hardest part was the first three days, when we tried to locate the gang's hideout," Syafei said.
The hideout was located on a hidden plateau, which was encircled with thick woods, dozens of kilometers away from the villages.
The gang kept the stolen cows there before transporting them to Denpasar or East Java.
Earlier last month, police in East Nusa Tenggara arrested at least seven armed military personnel for stealing six cows belonging to residents of the village of Sulamu, some 100 kilometers from the provincial capital of Kupang.
The soldiers were caught "red-handed" along with seven civilian suspects. They were later discharged from the military.