Police shot dead one and arrest three criminals

JAKARTA (JP): Police shot dead one man and arrested three others during a routine police operation against sharp weapons and drugs early Monday, an officer said.

It is believed the four were members of a vehicle theft gang.

Central Jakarta Police chief of detectives Maj. Budiono Sandi said the officers were forced to shoot one of the suspects because he resisted arrest and tried to attack them.

Budiono identified the dead man as Yadi, 35, and his three accomplices as Abdulrahman alias Hermansyah, 27, Heru Setyawan alias Konco, 28, and Haryanto, 35.

"The arrest took place on Jl. Taruna Raya in Kemayoran at about 3:30 a.m.," Budiono said.

The four were traveling in a Kijang van when the officers stopped them in the operation.

"The officers found a gun toy, sickles and a physician's shirt," he said, adding that when police asked to see their identity cards, Yadi refused the request and pulled out a sharp weapon from his trouser pocket.

The officers reportedly fired a warning shot, but Yadi ignored it. "Yadi even challenged my subordinates to fight," he said.

Yadi's friends tried to run away after the officers fired but were immediately blocked off by the officers.

The three were then sent to the Central Jakarta Police Station for further questioning, while Yadi's body was rushed to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for a postmortem examination.

Police obtained the address of one of them in Cimanggis, East Jakarta, where they confiscated a Kijang van.

"Three other Kijang vans were later seized in separate places in South Jakarta," Budiono said.

The three reportedly confessed that they stole the vehicles on the Cengkareng and Kebon Jeruk toll roads in West Jakarta and the Ancol toll road in North Jakarta

In a similar operation last week, Central Jakarta Police arrested four men believed to be members of a group of vehicle thieves.

Police identified two of them as former Army members Tasli Dewantoro and Rasmadi, while the two were identified as Agus Amba and Muhammad Mustafa.

The police confiscated an FN 45 handgun with four bullets, a number of forged vehicle ownership documents and fake keys from the four.

Vehicle thieves have modified their modus operandi over the last few months by wearing security personnel uniforms in order to stop motorists on quiet streets.

The thieves usually stop passing vehicles while claiming to be on-duty officers checking identification cards, or looking for narcotics or weapons inside vehicles. Victims are usually lone motorists.

In most cases, the bogus officers manage to enter the vehicles before the drivers realize they are being robbed. To date, most victims have been dumped on toll roads. (emf)