Police searching for oil drilling equipment

Police searching for oil drilling equipment

Nana Rukmana
The Jakarta Post
Indramayu, West Java

Police here are attempting to locate a group of men believed to
be attempting to sell oil drilling equipment that was stolen from
Indramayu. Four fishermen were arrested on Wednesday for stealing
the equipment.

The top detective for the Indramayu Police, Adj. Comr. Jidin
Siagian, said on Thursday arresting the suspected fences would
help the police bust up a ring of thieves specializing in oil
drilling equipment. The ring has inflicted hundreds of billions
of rupiah in financial losses on off-shore oil companies
operating in the regency over the past two years.

During that period, police have recorded 102 cases of theft
involving at least 18 oil rigs operating 35 kilometers off the
coast of Indramayu.

Jidin said the Indramayu Police had asked for assistance from
the Karawang Police, based on the suspicion that the alleged
fences were in the neighboring town.

Police arrested on Wednesday four local fishermen caught
stealing drills from a Pertamina oil rig. Police seized from the
suspects three drilling rigs belonging to PT Foxtrot Siera Alfa,
which were valued at Rp 4.4 billion (about US$494,000).

The suspects were identified as Wawan, 40; Wanda, alias
Suwandi, 34; Warsim, 20; and Hendri, 30. All are residents of
Karawang and are being detained at the local police station.

Indramayu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Eko Hadi Sutedjo said he
has formed a team to investigate the thefts on the oil rigs.

He said during that questioning the suspects had admitted to
committing a number of thefts, but claimed to know nothing about
the equipment.

Jidin said investigators were wary of the suspects' account
given the expensive drilling equipment that they targeted.

"We suspect the thieves are experts or at least know a lot
about the equipment and how much it costs, which is why they
focused on it," Jidin said.

The suspected thieves removed the drilling equipment by
cutting the bolts holding it in place.

Jidin said that between 2001 and 2002 there had been about one
theft a week of oil rigs, with reported stolen equipment
including ball valves, hydraulic pumps, master valves, wellhead
valves, dump valves, regulators and control valves.

He said poor security on the oil rigs contributed to the high
number of thefts.