Police seize 321 stolen vehicles

JAKARTA (JP): The City Police have seized a total of 321 stolen vehicles of various types and brands in a series of massive on-the-road operations throughout the city over the past two months.

Some of the stolen cars lack the required legal documents, while the papers for the others were falsified.

City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hindarto said not a single suspect has been arrested for the thefts thus far.

Only the driver of a sports car, estimated to cost around Rp 200 million (US$91,533), is still being questioned because the documents he had for the car had been falsified.

Hindarto said, the police strongly believe that the people involved in the vehicle theft gangs are "the old players".

"Everybody knows that they stole the cars due to their standard modus operandi, involving the use of screwdrivers and rulers," he said.

Hindarto revealed that his detectives have identified at least 12 previously existing vehicle theft gangs and eight new groups operating in the city.

The police are still working to collect enough evidence to tie these groups to the thefts of the vehicles impounded.

Hindarto also said that most of the cars without legal documents might have been brought in from overseas by their owners, particularly people who had been studying abroad.

"They put the vehicles in containers which were sealed with papers saying that they contained certain other goods," he said.

Out of the 321 stolen cars, 150 are parked at the City Police Headquarters, while the remaining 171 are parked at police precincts. Of these, 17 vehicles are in Central Jakarta, 26 in North Jakarta, 74 in East Jakarta and 15 in Tangerang.

"We invite the public whose cars have been stolen to take a look at the vehicles," Hindarto said.

Those who have legal documents and can identify specific identifying marks on the cars can take their vehicles back, he explained.

Legal procedures require that the process of getting back the cars be free of charge, but it has been reported that some people give officers up to Rp 2 million for their services.

"I think we have to appreciate the work the police did to get back my sedan because they also spent quite a lot of money and time in seizing the cars," a female motorist, whose stolen sedan was recovered, told The Jakarta Post recently.

Most of the stolen cars are Toyota and Mitsubishi minibuses and sedans. (bsr)