Man arrested for hijacking truck

SURABAYA: East Java police arrested a man for hijacking a truck loaded with fruit juice and textiles headed for Denpasar, Bali, from Central Java, on Saturday, police said on Sunday.

Mojoagung Police subprecinct chief Adj. Comr. Siana said on Sunday that the man, identified as Sugiyono, was now in the subprecinct's custody.

"Besides arresting Sugiyono, police rescued five people, whose truck had been hijacked by Sugiyono and his accomplices," Siana said.

Quoting reports from the truck crew, Siana said that the drama began when their Buavita fruit juice truck was hijacked by a group of armed people traveling on another truck somewhere in Central Java.

The hijackers overpowered the Buavita truck crew and stole the Buavita truck, while the hostages were handcuffed and blindfolded before being transferred to the hijackers' truck, driven by Sugiyono.

The two trucks headed for Surabaya, however, the hijackers' truck carrying the hostages planned to stop in Jombang, a town some 50 kilometers east of Surabaya.

The truck crew told police that the hijackers planned to dump them in Jombang, but when the truck was caught in a traffic jam in Mojotresno village, adjacent to Mojoagung, they jumped down.

A police patrol approached the truck after witnessing the strange event and Sugiyono was arrested. He said that his five accomplices had stolen the Buavita truck.

Antara did not reveal if any of the truck's crew were hurt in their attempt to escape. (09)