Cigarette theft stopped in Bogor

BOGOR (JP): Local police arrested three people allegedly involved in the theft of a truck container carrying 380 boxes of cigarettes worth a total of Rp 500 million.

The three suspects are a cigarette broker, a dealer and a prospective buyer, Bogor Police chief Col. Hari Setyabudi said on Wednesday.

The cigarettes of the popular brand Djarum Coklat were supposed to be delivered to West Sumatra, instead of Bogor, Hari said.

"We received a report of a missing truck container from the cigarette manufacturer, who said it was scheduled to arrive in Padang, West Sumatra's capital, from Jakarta on Oct. 6, but the freight did not arrive by Oct. 9," Hari said.

Police traced the freight's route and suspected that there were four robbers who hijacked the container, but declined to identify them.

"So far we have managed to arrest three suspects by tracing the cigarettes' distribution network in Bogor. Hopefully we can catch the other culprits soon," Hari said. (21/edt)