Java truck hijackers captured

SEMARANG: A gang of at least three people has been arrested on charges of hijacking and looting trucks in Java's north coast, police said here on Friday.

Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Didi Widayadi said the three suspects, identified as Hadi, Agung and Arif, were captured on Aug. 26. in Cilacap regency.

Didi said the police were also searching for their three accomplices whose whereabouts remain unknown.

The gang has become known as the "jumping squirrels," often jumping onto cargo trucks to hijack and loot their contents, such as clothes, sugar, electronic goods, spare parts and even motorcycles.

The suspects are accused of hijacking at least five trucks this year alone, including one in April loaded with clothes, at Kediri, East Java, and another carrying oil at Purwokerto, Central Java.

They were also blamed for looting a truck carrying vehicle spare parts in July in Losari, bordering West and Central Java. In the same month, the suspects allegedly stole lamps from a truck in Tegal, Central Java, and the latest incident occurred on Aug. 23, when they hijacked a truckload of flour in Slawi, Central Java.

Didi said the suspects claimed the hijackings had been carried out after they received orders from brokers in West and East Java who were ready to buy their booty. --JP