Police nab taxi driver over Rp 2b robbery

JAKARTA: Police arrested two men on Tuesday for allegedly robbing a taxi passenger of gold jewelry worth Rp 2 billion (US$224,719).

One of the suspects is the driver of a Prestasi taxi.

"The victim hailed the taxi from her jewelry store at night in June. As they entered Melawai, South Jakarta, the driver coughed several times to give a signal to his friend who was hiding in the trunk of the car," detective chief Sr. Comr. Mathius Salempang revealed.

The two tied and gagged the woman and dropped her in Ciputat, Tangerang, about one hour away.

According to victim, the taxi was a Ford sedan with taxi body number 249. ""We later found a Prestasi taxi with the number 249, but it was a Soluna and the driver was not the one who committed the robbery," Salempang said.--JP