Repeat Offender Snatches iPhone 17 in South Jakarta, Sells It for Rp 2 Million

Police have arrested a man named Fazhar Firlina for mobile phone theft in the Cilandak area of South Jakarta. Two victims reported the thefts, which were carried out by the same perpetrator. Cilandak Police Chief Kompol Gusprihatin Zen stated that the two police reports involved the same male suspect. The thefts occurred on two separate Saturdays in May morning. Fazhar stole the victims’ phones by snatching them directly on the street. Based on witness statements and CCTV evidence, the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Cilandak Police, led by AKP M Suwarno, arrested the suspect at his rented house on Jalan Kota Bambu Utara, Palmerah, West Jakarta, on a Monday evening. Police also seized the motorcycle and helmet used by the suspect during the phone snatchings. The stolen iPhone 17 was sold by the perpetrator for only Rp 2 million. The Public Relations Head of the South Jakarta Police, AKP Joko Adi, stated that the suspect explained he had sold the iPhone 17 to an unknown person in the Cengkareng flea market area. Another phone, a Redmi 13C, was sold by Fazhar for Rp 700,000. The suspect admitted to police that the money from selling the stolen phones had been spent on daily necessities. Following intensive questioning, it was discovered that Fazhar has been imprisoned multiple times for the same offence. He is a repeat offender who has previously served a sentence at Cipinang Correctional Facility and has committed the same act more than three times. The suspect is charged under Article 477 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years.