Former Employee Exploits Inside Knowledge to Burgle 22 Retail Outlets Across Lombok

A resident of Dasan Geria village, Lingsar subdistrict, West Lombok, NTB, identified by the initials MS (28), has been arrested after attempting to flee from police. MS is the perpetrator of a series of burglaries targeting dozens of modern retail outlets across Lombok.

North Lombok Police Chief AKBP Agus Purwanto stated that MS was apprehended in the Lingsar area. The suspect attempted to escape by climbing onto the roof of a resident’s house to evade the pursuing officers. “During the arrest, the perpetrator tried to flee by climbing onto a resident’s roof. However, he was chased down and successfully detained,” Agus said on Friday (3/7/2026).

MS was arrested in the early hours of Friday. He is a former employee of the networked modern retail chain, having worked in the maintenance department. Consequently, he possessed a thorough understanding of the stores’ operational procedures and exploited this knowledge to commit the crimes dozens of times.

“Preliminary investigations have revealed that the suspect is believed to have carried out similar actions at 22 locations spread across North Lombok, West Lombok, East Lombok, Central Lombok, and Mataram City,” he stated.

The suspect’s most recent crime occurred in Kayangan Village, Kayangan District, North Lombok, on Wednesday (1/7/2026). Employees opening the store discovered that the cigarette display was empty, a shelf containing facial care products had collapsed, and Rp 200,000 in cash was missing from the till. “The total loss is estimated to have reached Rp 30 million,” he said.

According to the suspect’s confession, some of the stolen goods had already been sold. Following further investigation, police detained two receivers of the stolen goods, identified by the initials M and RA.

Officers also seized a number of items as evidence, including a motorcycle, a set of keys, a tablet torch, Rp 260,000 in cash, three boxes of various cigarette brands, dozens of perfume bottles, facial wash, vehicle accessories, clothing believed to have been worn during the crimes, and a white sack. “There were also 91 sheets of Rp 10,000 stamp duty,” he added.

MS and the two receivers are currently being held at the North Lombok Police station along with the secured evidence. “The investigation is ongoing to uncover the possibility of other crime scenes or the involvement of additional individuals,” he stated.