Five detained for container truck armed robberies

Five detained for container truck armed robberies

JAKARTA (JP): Police arrested five men this week for their
involvement in two recent armed robberies of container trucks
carrying goods worth almost Rp 1 billion (US$425,500).

"They were arrested on Monday and Thursday for their alleged
roles in hiding, purchasing and selling the stolen goods, which
consisted of medicine and shoes," city police spokesman Lt. Col.
Iman Haryatna said yesterday.

Meanwhile, the main perpetrators, armed with sharp weapons
during the robberies, are still at large, officer Iman said.

Two of the five suspects arrested were identified as Nasrun
and Benny, both in their 30s.

According to police detective Capt. Iswadi, Nasrun was
arrested at his house on Wednesday at Klari village, West Java,
on charges of helping the first group of men hide their stolen
goods at his home.

"Based on Nasrun's tips, the police then nabbed Benny, the
fencer, at his home in Cibubur, East Jakarta," Ismadi said.

The four men hijacked a container truck carrying more than
1,000 boxes of medicine worth nearly Rp 400 million, said Iswadi.

The goods, heading from Jakarta to Medan in North Sumatra,
were owned by PT Juang, a supplier.

The armed robbers stopped the truck on its way to Sumatra in
the area of Balaraja, near the border point of Cikande and
Tangerang in West Java, at around 11 p.m. on June 19, he said.

After overpowering driver Tarigan and his assistant Hartono,
the robbers drove the truck to Klari to unload the loot at
Nasrun's house.

"During police questioning, Benny said that he had paid the
men Rp 70 million of the Rp 80 million promised for the stolen
goods," said Iswadi.

While being booked on Wednesday, the fencer admitted that he
had sold one-third of the stolen goods to several pharmacies.

A preliminary police investigation revealed that Benny also
owns at least three pharmacies, two on Jl. Pramuka and the other
in Cibubur.

Police have only confiscated 397 boxes of medicine, including
sweetener sachets and mouthwash.

The other three men, who have been detained, were identified
as Badaruddin, alias Aming, Sardi and Ahmad.

"They were arrested on Monday after three months of
investigation," spokesman Iman said.

The three are believed to have acted as fencers of 11,119
pairs of Nike sports shoes worth around Rp 485 million stolen
from the container truck by the driver and his crew.

"The driver, Chairuddin, and crew member Randi are still being
hunted," Iman said.

The case was first reported on April 13 by an executive at the
shoe producer, PT Nikomas Gemilang, which is located in Serang,
West Java.

The shoes were to be exported to Germany.

A preliminary police investigation revealed that Chairuddin
and Randi, who were assigned to carry the goods to the Cakung
container terminal in North Jakarta, decided to drive the truck
to the fence's warehouse at the Desa Telagasari in the Cikupa
district of Tangerang, said Iman.

During questioning, the three fences said that they had bought
the stolen shoes for around Rp 50,000 per pair from the two
wanted suspects and resold them again for between Rp 100,000 and
Rp 150,000 per pair, said Iman. (bsr)