Police gun down wanted criminals on toll road

BEKASI (JP): Detectives shot and killed three of the city's most wanted criminals during an early morning blockade on Cikampek toll road yesterday.

Bekasi Police chief Lt. Col. Adjie Rustam said yesterday evening that the suspects were shot in the head and back after one of the men attempted to reach for his gun.

"After tracking their hideouts for two consecutive days, a team of detectives were assigned to pursue the men because, according to a tip-off, they were on their way to Medan (North Sumatra)," Adjie said.

Detectives in two unmarked cars located the suspects -- who were considered armed and dangerous -- at 4 a.m. yesterday on km 31 of the Cikampek toll road near Cibitung, Bekasi.

The suspects and an unidentified fourth man were in a Kijang minivan heading toward Jakarta.

"The detectives blocked the car's path and, with guns drawn, ordered the four men to step away from the car," Adjie said.

But one of them started to draw a revolver strapped to his waist and the detectives retaliated with gunfire, he said. Three of the men were killed instantly.

"We don't want to look foolish," Adjie said.

"The other one, who is still at large, apparently found a way to escape."

The three men were identified as Maringan Nainggolan, 27, Andi Lubis, 28, and Galingging, 30.

Adjie said the men had all served time in jail and their criminal records included robbery and drug dealing offenses.

"They often killed their victims."

He blamed the threesome for the robbery and murder of Sutadiseno, the head of the cooperatives unit in Rawa Panjang village, Narogong, earlier this year.

Adjie said that yesterday's shootings were triggered by Nainggolan -- a former low-ranking military officer discharged in December last year -- who attempted to grab his handmade revolver.

Police seized the gun and its five bullets, some sharp weapons and the Kijang minivan, which had been stolen, as evidence.

The bodies were sent to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta for a postmortem examination.

According to a reliable source at the hospital's morgue, the men had each been shot at least four times. They had head, back and feet wounds.

"I could say that they were shot at point-blank range," he said. (04/cst)