Lanyard-Wearing Thief Who Surveyed Luxury Jakarta Hotels Before Striking Arrested by Police
Police have arrested NW (43), suspected of being a lanyard-wearing thief who stole laptops from several luxury hotels in Jakarta. Police said NW surveyed hotel activities before carrying out his crimes.
“Before striking, the perpetrator would first seek information about events or functions at hotels to map out the situation and exploit moments of inattention, then target and take belongings from guests or visitors,” said Jakarta Metropolitan Police Head of Public Relations Kombes Budi Hermanto to reporters on Wednesday (18/2/2026).
Budi said NW disguised himself as an office worker. NW frequently wore batik clothing and a lanyard — a cord used to hang identification badges — resembling an employee at the location.
“The perpetrator is a specialist whose modus operandi involves disguising himself as an office worker, wearing batik and a lanyard, then blending into the luxury hotel environment,” Budi said.
Budi explained that NW claimed to have acted alone. He said there was no indication that the suspect was working as part of a gang.
“Based on preliminary examination results, the perpetrator acted alone and to date no indication of the involvement of other parties has been found,” Budi explained.
The theft committed by NW took place on Tuesday (10/2) at approximately 12.41 local time. The act was captured on the hotel’s CCTV cameras.
“The Mobile Crime Sub-directorate of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police’s General Crime Directorate arrested a man with the initials NW (43) suspected of committing thefts at several luxury hotels in Jakarta,” said Jakarta Metropolitan Police Head of Public Relations Kombes Budi Hermanto on Monday (16/2).
NW was arrested on Friday (13/2) in the Matraman area of East Jakarta after his identity was uncovered. A number of items of evidence were also seized during the arrest.
“Police confiscated several items of evidence, including one laptop belonging to the victim, a lanyard, sunglasses, a black bag, a batik shirt, jeans, and shoes used during the crime,” he said.