Cirebon police to crush extorters

CIREBON, West Java: Police here have vowed to crack down on thugs blamed for rampant extortion on buses and other vehicles traversing the Cirebon-Jakarta highway along the north coast of Java.

Cirebon Police chief Sr. Comr. Sunaryono said he had issued an order for district police chiefs overseeing security in the city and the neighboring towns of Indramayu, Kuningan and Majalengka to enforce the law against bus extorters.

"We will crush all thugs who extort people on hundreds of buses traveling here," he said.

The instruction was in response to a recent protest by 400 crews of intercity buses from at least seven bus operators in Cirebon, who complained about prevalent extortion on the busy highway.

They cited that the main roads between Jatibarang in Indramayu and the Cikampek toll road gate were the most vulnerable to extortion.

The protesters said the extorters were usually in groups of five or 10 thugs, aged 17 years to 25 years old.

"Their modus operandi is to stop buses in deserted areas and intimidate the crews for Rp 200,000 to Rp 300,000 each time," said operational manager of the Bhineka bus company Ali Gazali, who led the protest.

"If their request is turned down, our buses would become the target of destruction. The thugs could even attack bus crews if they were dissatisfied," he added. --JP