Police will seize cars without proper vehicle documents

JAKARTA (JP): In a move to check the import of illegal automobiles, Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Nurfaizi said on Wednesday the police would not hesitate to seize any vehicle which did not have proper documents.

"If there are no proper documents, the police will forcibly secure the car and question the owner until we find out who is the true owner of the car ... it's regulation," Nurfaizi said at Jakarta Police Headquarters.

"Too many cars are being smuggled into our country. We cannot take any chances."

Nurfaizi was commenting on the recent seizure in East Jakarta of three luxury vehicles and two economy automobiles, in total valued at hundreds of million of rupiah.

The vehicles were a white Toyota Land Cruiser which at one time belonged to the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), which was being sold for Rp 125 million (US$16,700); a gray Toyota Land Cruiser being sold for Rp 75 million; a silver Range Rover being sold for Rp 75 million; a Chevrolet Nova which formerly belonged to the United States Embassy and was being sold for Rp 15 million; and a Toyota Celica Sport, which was being offered at Rp 22.5 million.

Earlier, East Jakarta Police chief Col. Hidayat Fabanxio said police had arrested two people since March 20 in connection with the five vehicles, which did not posses proper documents.

"Lia Chun Kim was arrested when we found the white Toyota Land Cruiser in a warehouse in Pondok Bambu, East Jakarta. Lia was the warehouse guard. He directed us to Sandy Jackson Wijaya, alias Toni, who (Lia) said smuggled illegal cars into the country," Hidayat said.

"We got Toni, who is actually the owner of a car showroom on Jl. Pedati in East Jakarta. There we got the Nova, the Celica and the Range Rover.

"Toni said the owner of the Celica and the Nova was a man named Iwan. We are still searching for him," he said.

The gray Land Cruiser was seized by East Jakarta Police detectives at Graha Cijantung, but as of Wednesday police had yet to locate the owner of the vehicle.

A number of vehicles have been seized by city police since the beginning of this year.

City Traffic Police chief Col. Nyoman Sukesna said recently his officers confiscated three Mercedes and a Land Cruiser from the home of a prominent figure on Jl. Barito, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Feb. 19.

Nyoman said two of the three confiscated Mercedes were 1999 models and the third was a 1998 model.

"The problem was that all three (vehicles) had one license plate, B 430 ... I can't give you the full number. There was only one registration document for the three Mercedes, which was a document for a 1979 model Mercedes," Nyoman said.

He said there was another Land Cruiser at the house which was not confiscated. "One Land Cruiser was a 1998 model that was white with a maroon stripe along the lower body. Another was a 1997 model, which was reportedly smuggled in by UNAMET."

Tanjung Priok Seaport Police in North Jakarta confiscated three Ferraris in February.

"When we investigated this case, we found that the cars were meant to delivered to a very important official here," seaport police chief Col. Edward Aritonang said.

The seizure of the Ferraris was the first such seizure of the year. The illegal import of luxury cars was rampant in the 1970s. (ylt)