Notorious bike thieves busted

BOGOR (JP): Local police have arrested three of a notorious five-member gang of robbers specializing in stealing motorcycles at dawn, an officer said yesterday.

Bogor Police Chief Lt. Col. Edmond Ilyas told media yesterday that Samsul Rizal, 20, Mat Zakaria, 21, and Dayatulloh, 30, were nabbed Monday in two separate raids.

"The two other members of the gang are still at large," he said.

According to Edmond, members of the so-called "Dawn Gang" were identified among the most wanted criminals by the police due to their reputation which struck fear into Bogor residents.

"They usually carried out their operations between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.. Their main targets were motorcycles parked in the garages, yards and roadsides," the officer explained.

With T-shaped skeleton keys, they could easily turn start the motorcycles and flee the scene, Edmond said.

Dayatulloh and Mat Zakaria, he said, were nabbed red-handed by police patrol officers whose suspicions were aroused when they saw them drag a motorcycle at about 4 a.m. on Jl. Pangkalan Raya in Cibuluh, North Bogor.

During interrogation, the two identified the hideout of Samsul Rizal.

"This gang has been involved in at least seven motorcycle thefts. The stolen bikes were sold at an average of Rp 1 million each," he said.

With the arrest of the three Dawn Gang members, Edmond hoped the number of motorcycle thefts in Bogor would fall drastically.

"We then hope that we can concentrate on tracking down the other gangs of motorcycles thieves which run their operation at midday, in the early evening and night," the officer said.

Police seized a bunch of the keys and seven motorcycles from the three men. (bsr/24)