Police smash supermarket theft ring, arrest nine

JAKARTA (JP): Police have smashed two supermarket theft syndicates arresting nine people for stealing goods worth Rp 6 billion (US$2.57 million).

The chief of the City Police Detectives, Col. Paimin Aboeamr said yesterday police had filled six trucks with confiscated clothes, boxes of milk, perfumes and many other items. Police also confiscated two Kijang vans and two motorcycles the syndicates were believed to have used.

Paimin said police had not yet found any connection between the two groups which had similar modus operandi.

The Rp 6 billion of goods were stolen within just one month, Paimin said, adding that he believed the syndicates had been operating for years.

The first syndicate's members, Rosita, 34, Stella, 22, Risky, 32, Medi Rony Tendean, 31, Sayuti, 36, and Suryono, alias Asun, 23, were arrested at Rosita's house in Cakung, East Jakarta. Asun, who is believed to be the mastermind, was picked up at his home on Jl. Taman Meruya Ilir, West Jakarta.

The second syndicate's members, Muksinah, 46, Tarmudi, 29, and Haryanto Kurniawan, alias Teng San, 42, were arrested at Teng San's house on Jl. Taman Sari, West Jakarta. Teng San is believed to be the boss.

The hunt for the gang members had began two weeks ago after reports from the Indonesian Retail Business Association.

Paimin said the syndicates operated at the Hero supermarket in Kalibata, South Jakarta, Ramayana Department Store in Cililitan, East Jakarta, Matahari Department Store in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta and Makro in Kampung Rambutan, East Jakarta.

Capt. Ismudi, chief of the team assigned to deal with the thefts, said police were still hunting two men, Hadi and Aseng, who are thought to be the buyers.

In the syndicate's operations, one member always waited in a van while another member pretended to be a customer and kept supermarket staff busy. Other members then stole goods and put them into bags.

"They met at a certain place before starting the operation. They could go to between two and four different supermarkets a day," Paimin said.

He said the thieves sold the goods to Asun and Teng San. "Teng San said he sold the goods in the Senen market in Central Jakarta."

"The thefts could happen simply because of the negligence of the supermarkets' security officers and staff," Paimin said.

He asked supermarket managers to be more aware.

Meanwhile, vice chairman of the Indonesian Retail Business Association Surya Dharma Ali, who is also vice president of Hero Supermarkets, said thieves stole more than one percent of Hero's merchandise in a year. "The average loss is between Rp 5 billion and Rp 6 billion annually due to theft," he said. (jun)