Man shot dead for stealing from moving vehicles
Man shot dead for stealing from moving vehicles
JAKARTA (JP): City police have arrested tens of people in a
crackdown on robbers stealing goods from vehicles passing down
highways or trapped in heavy traffic jams.
One of the arrested thieves was fatally shot in the early
hours yesterday while trying to attack and run away from five
North Jakarta police detectives, who came to arrest him late
Thursday.
Kurdi, 32, a repeat offender and resident of Pengalengan, West
Java, has long been wanted by the North Jakarta police for his
alleged roles in a series of robberies of goods from vehicles in
the area.
The West Jakarta police announced yesterday that a total of
six men had been apprehended in their operation against the
robbers, locally known as Bajing Loncat (the Jumping Squirrels),
in the past two days.
"Two of the six were known as the alleged leaders of two
different Squirrels groups, while the remaining four were named
as fences for the stolen goods," West Jakarta Police Chief Lt.
Col. Hari Pribadi told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
The first two, identified as Haryanto and Munajad, were
arrested at their homes in Cengkareng and Kebon Jeruk
respectively during a pre-dawn operation yesterday.
The other four, whose names have been withheld for further
police investigation, were arrested in Sukabumi, West Java.
"These people are believed to be members of notorious groups,
which have long been operating in various parts of the city and
sold the stolen goods in other towns in West Java," Hari said.
"We're still hunting down a large number of their remaining
members as well as those from other different groups," Hari said.
The number of arrested robbers from other police precincts has
yet to be announced.
"The operation is still on-going," said City Police Spokesman
Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna.
According to the newly-appointed City Police Chief Maj. Gen.
Hamami Nata, the war on such robbers has been waged for the last
few days in an attempt to stop their activities in the city
completely.
Spokesman Iman said that the heads of all nine police
precincts under the supervision of the Jakarta Metropolitan
Police, including the Jakarta Port, Depok, Tangerang, Central,
North, East, South and West Jakarta police, have been ordered to
carry out operations against such robbers.
Police records show that these types of robbers have
intensified their activities in the past few months in and around
the city.
According to several detectives in West and North Jakarta, the
main target of the robbers are trucks loaded with goods.
"Working in a group of at least two people armed with sharp
weapons, they stop passing trucks, quickly climb up the rear
parts of the vehicles and get away with any valuable items," said
a detective.
"They also carry out their operations during daylight hours on
the streets known for their heavy traffic jams," he said.
The robbers rarely use cars. "They just take the stolen goods
to a bus before selling them to their regular fences," another
detective said.
In West Jakarta, the thieves choose Jl. Daan Mogot, which is
more than 15 kilometers long, and the hectic Kebun Jeruk - Tomang
toll road, said officer Hari.
Thousands of trucks loaded with export goods from Sumatra and
Tangerang pass through the two roads everyday.
In North Jakarta, the robbers find Jl. RE Martadinata, Jl. Yos
Sudarso and Jl. Cilincing Raya as the chosen roads to carry out
their operations because there are thousands of trucks heading to
and from Tanjung Priok Port passing down them. (bsr/04)