Eleven arrested for stealing garments
Eleven arrested for stealing garments
JAKARTA (JP): Tanjung Priok Port Police have arrested 11
people for stealing a container of garments worth around Rp 300
million.
The people allegedly tried to cut the 40-foot container into
pieces and sell it bit by bit in an effort to get rid of the
material evidence, after stealing all 22,000 pieces of children's
clothing in it, chief of the port, Lt. Col. Timbul Sianturi, said
yesterday.
"Thanks to an immediate report from the owner, we could arrest
11 of 12 suspects and seize the loot within just days," said
Timbul, who was accompanied by City Police Spokesman Lt. Col.
Iman Haryatna.
The exporter reported to police Sunday and the suspects were
arrested on Wednesday.
Timbul said one of the alleged thieves is still at large.
Owned by PT Sainath Industri Corporation Limited located in an
industrial bonded zone inside the port area, the goods were to be
shipped to Greveport in Ohio, the United States.
The buyer is K Mart Fashions A Division in Michigan.
Learning that one of their containers had yet to arrive at the
container terminal for exports, executives of PT Sainath soon
reported the case to the police.
"We quickly formed four teams to locate the whereabouts of the
trailer in Tangerang and Bekasi, two noted places in the city for
hiding big trucks and their containers," Timbul said.
Two days later, the Tanjung Priok personnel found the trailer
and one of the driver's assistants, identified as Sugeng Rawuh,
in the nearby Semper subdistrict in Koja, North Jakarta.
Based on Sugeng's information, the police rushed to a huge
store owned by PT Samdo Indonesia in Desa Sukadanau, Cibitung,
West Java, Timbul said.
"So far, we have found no relationship between the owners of
PT Samdo and the group," he added. Police did question two
security guards of the store.
Intense search
Initiating an intense search, the police apprehended two more
suspects, identified as Mandra and Hendra, on the same day at the
Kramat Tunggak prostitution complex. Mandra was the driver of the
container truck.
Police then arrested another eight companions on Wednesday at
different places. The suspects are identified as Agus, Joko,
Irfan, Matra, Rudi, Sunadi, Rusandi and Mawi.
All of them, except Matra, 16, were over 30 years old.
Timbul said that the culprits, led by Mandra, Matra and Rudi,
had plotted the theft about a week before.
The stolen clothes were sold to someone named Mawi, at Jl.
Daan Mogot in West Jakarta for a price of Rp 16 million, almost
19 times less than the actual value, Timbul said.
The gang apparently only received Rp 9.5 million in
down payment before police arrested them and seized the items and
most of the money, Timbul said.
According to Timbul, Mawi had tried to sell the stolen apparel
at a traditional market at Rp 2,500 per piece. The actual price
is US$8.99 each. He did not manage to sell a single item.
Spokesman Iman said that this was the second arrest of such a
syndicate in the last three months. (bsr)