Police nab five alleged kidnappers

JAKARTA: The police have arrested five suspected members of a group that had kidnapped junior high school students in the capital and Depok over the past few months, an officer said on Monday.

The suspects, Budi, Wawan, Toni, Joni and Yusmanti, were arrested last week at a house in Bintaro, South Jakarta, and admitted to their involvement in last month's kidnapping of Michael, 13, and Fajar, 13, in Depok.

"Earlier, they had kidnapped Naufal Hasan, 12, at Plaza Bintaro," Jakarta Police detectives chief Sr. Comr. Mathius Salempang said.

The police had earlier arrested another suspect, Lydia, for her alleged involvement in the abduction of two students early this month in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

"The five claimed they were not related to Lydia, but we found out that both groups used the same bank accounts under the names of Asmil and Yusmanti," Salempang said, adding that police were hunting down other members of the group. -- JP