Bareskrim uncovers theft of XLSmart BTS tower equipment

The loss of the equipment caused telecommunications service disruptions, leaving thousands of customers unable to use mobile and internet services. The Mobile Detective Unit (Satresmob) of the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) has uncovered a case of alleged aggravated theft and fencing of base transceiver station (BTS) equipment belonging to PT XLSmart Telecom Sejahtera Tbk and named four suspects. Head of the Bareskrim Mobile Detective Unit, Senior Commissioner Teuku Arsya Khadafi, stated that the investigation began with a report from PT XLSmart regarding the disappearance of BTS modules in several regions across Indonesia. The investigation was conducted by Unit II of Satresmob Bareskrim in collaboration with the East Jakarta Metro Police and Ciracas Sector Police, successfully uncovering a theft and fencing network involving the shipment of goods abroad. According to Arsya, the perpetrators carried out their actions by disguising themselves as BTS tower installation technicians to dismantle and steal modules from the sites. The stolen modules were then sold to fences at prices far below their actual value before being shipped overseas via courier services under the direction of a foreign national with the initials JZ based in Bangkok, Thailand. The suspects are charged under Article 477 of Law Number 1 of 2024 concerning the Criminal Code regarding aggravated theft and Article 591 of the Criminal Code regarding fencing. Arsya added that investigators are still tracing the distribution route of the goods abroad, expanding the investigation to other perpetrators and fencing networks, and coordinating with PT XLSmart, PT Indosat, and PT Telkomsel to identify the origin of each recovered module.