Metro Police Uncover 141 Vehicle Theft Cases, 317 Suspects Arrested

The Metro Jaya Police and its resort police units have uncovered 141 police reports related to motor vehicle theft in the Greater Jakarta area. From this number, police managed to arrest 317 suspects. “In the disclosure of the case, our investigators succeeded in arresting 317 suspects,” said Director of General Criminal Investigation at Metro Jaya Police, Senior Commissioner Iman Imanuddin, during a press conference on Tuesday. For their actions, the theft suspects are charged under Article 477 of the Criminal Code and/or Article 479 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. Meanwhile, suspects who acted as fences are charged under Article 591 of the Criminal Code, facing a maximum of four years in prison. “Currently, all suspects along with the evidence are being further processed by investigators for the transfer of case files to the Public Prosecutor,” Iman said. In the operation, police also secured 156 vehicles that the suspects had managed to steal, comprising 141 two-wheeled vehicles and 15 four-wheeled vehicles. Of these hundreds of vehicles, 26 were returned to their owners today. “We return them to their legal owners based on proof of ownership held by the victims, consisting of 22 two-wheeled vehicles and 4 four-wheeled vehicles,” Iman stated. Iman invited other members of the public who believe they own the vehicles to collect them from the Metro Jaya Police or the resort police stations. He requested that owners come in person and not be represented, to avoid touting and illegal levies. “We convey to the public that anyone who will collect the motor vehicles we are currently publicising will not be charged a fee,” he said. Iman also urged the public to take anticipatory measures to avoid becoming victims of motor vehicle theft, from using additional locks to parking in safe places. “And of course, we urge the public to implement and actively activate the neighbourhood security system by increasing their respective levels of environmental awareness,” he added.