Police crack car theft rings, seize 26 vehicles
JAKARTA (JP): Police have seized 26 stolen vehicles from three alleged auto theft gangs and have arrested 12 suspects since the start of this month, an officer said on Wednesday.
Jakarta Police detectives chief Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo said the stolen vehicles, including a Mercedes Benz sedan and a Suzuki Escudo jeep, are on display at police headquarters on Jl. Sudirman in South Jakarta to enable people to claim their recovered vehicles.
Twenty-one of the seized cars are Kijang vans.
Alex said this make of vehicle was a common target for thieves as it is in demand in the illegal car market.
Some of the confiscated cars, according to Alex, had already been sold illegally outside Jakarta, including in cities in Central Java and East Java.
The 12 men were arrested separately, and are being detained on suspicion of car theft, buying stolen cars and forging vehicle ownership documents.
"We're still looking for at least 10 others," Alex said.
"The thieves operate with different methods in certain areas of Jakarta, in groups of at least four members," Alex said.
Thieves have been known to pick locks or force open doors to enter locked cars, the senior colonel said, whereas some cars are stolen from rental companies.
The number of stolen cars seized by police so far this year is now 107, of which 88 have been claimed by the owners.
Subiyanti Pranaka, a resident of Duren Sawit in East Jakarta came to city police headquarters on Wednesday to reclaim her red Kijang van, stolen in the Cempaka Putih area seven months ago. Police informed her last week they had recovered her car.
"I thought it would never be returned to us," said Subiyanti, whose husband works at the Supreme Advisory Council.
She said a detective from the vehicle theft unit contacted her last week and asked her to see the car.
"It took less than a week to claim the vehicle," Subiyanti said, showing a document allowing her to take the car home. She will have to return the car if it is later required as evidence. (emf)