Police nab boss, hunt car-theft gang

Police nab boss, hunt car-theft gang

JAKARTA (JP): South Jakarta police are searching for members of a gang specializing in stealing exclusive cars, following the arrest of their boss and the seizure of six exclusive sedans.

A reliable source at a local police precinct said yesterday that the wanted persons are believed to be hiding in the city.

The source, who asked not to be identified, said that the gang has stolen high-priced cars, such as the new brands of BMW and Mercedes Benz sedans.

During their modus operandi, members of the group, clad in expensive suits, came to a car owner, selling his car, and pretended to buy the luxury sedan.

During the on-the-road testing, the suspected criminals stopped at a certain place to have a duplicate of the ignition key made, the police source said.

When they arrived back at the car owner's place, they told the owner that they have yet to make up their mind whether or not to buy the car.

But, the officer said, the gang then monitored where the car owner drove the car, marking the parking site of the sedan.

As the owner parked the car, the group would be able to get inside the car, using the duplicated ignition key, and easily steal the car, he said.

The officer refused to go into details as to the names of the suspects or the number of wanted criminals.

"Our investigation is still underway," he said.

According to him, the leader of the group, identified only by his initial, S, 30, was arrested late last month in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta.

Following his arrest, police then confiscated four, new, brand BMW sedans, one Mercedes Benz 560 sedan and one Honda Prelude automatic sedan.

The cars are being kept at the South Jakarta police precinct.

"We hope the owners of the stolen sedans come to take a look at the cars and tell us the complete story of the larceny," the source said.(bsr)