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)