Four men detained over recent shrimp theft

TANGERANG (JP): After questioning 80 villagers, police have finally detained four men for their alleged role in last week's theft of shrimp by a mob in Tangerang, an official said yesterday.

Newly-installed Tangerang Police chief Lt. Col. Pudji Hartanto Iskandar said all of the suspects were residents of villages near the ponds from which 1.5 tons of shrimp were looted by 2,000 people in Teluknaga district on July 13.

"The four were captured in separate raids by a joint team from the Tangerang and Jakarta Police forces over the last couple of days," Pudji said.

The police have charged two of the four, Tarmidin bin Uka, 59, and Iran bin Adi, 45, with provoking the mob into raiding the shrimp farm.

The other two suspects, Ryan Hidayat bin Ijam, 20, and Endi Tumpang bin Rebo, 28, have been charged with looting.

"All of them have confessed their guilt. We hope to arrest more looters with the information we have collected from them," Pudji said.

The massive theft from the privately-owned ponds on the Java sea coast at Teluknaga caused Rp 180 million in losses.

The looters came from Tanjung Burung, Lemo, Salembaran Jaya, Ketapang and Rawa Lumpang.

According to Pudji, Endi is a Tanjung Burung resident, Tarmidi lives in Lemo, and both Iran and Ryan come from Ketapang.

He said police were still conducting their investigation, adding that the four suspects have temporarily been transferred to Jakarta Police Headquarters.

In Jakarta, city police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang confirmed the four were being held in the capital.

"They are being detained here pending further investigation," Aritonang said.

"Hopefully we can get some more leads from the suspects. We believe that more than one person masterminded this crime," he added.

Yesterday's announcement of the arrests came just one day after National Police chief Lt. Gen. Roesmanhadi revealed that he has ordered his men to take stern action against looters.

He said that looting was a criminal offense, even if it was motivated by hunger and poverty.

"Because they are considered criminals, police may use live ammunition to incapacitate them," he told a media conference on Tuesday.

"So, do not, I repeat, do not be angry if police have to take such stern action," Roesmanhadi warned.

He also said that police would soon launch a nationwide crackdown operation to wipe criminals off the streets.

"Too much misery and chaos has been caused," he said. "It's now time to stop it."

In Jakarta alone, police have recorded 637 cases of looting so far this year, Aritonang said. (41/edt)