Robbers raid Goro supermarket in C. Java

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A group of robbers armed with rifles and guns raided on Friday Goro supermarket in Sukoharjo, a town in Central Java, stealing Rp 157 million (about US$18,000) in cash and cellular phones worth more than Rp 20 million.

The armed robbers overpowered seven security guards and one electrician during the raid, detik.com reported. No one was injured in the incident which took place around 4.00 a.m. on Friday morning.

Sukoharjo Police chief Adj. Comr. Sr. Bambang Rudi Pratiknya said the security guards said there were at least 11 robbers who arrived in three cars.

They described the perpetrators of having short hair and said they swiftly overpowered the security guards.

"The robbers pointed guns at the security guards and told them to lie down on the floor. They tied them up but no shots were fired at all," Bambang said.

The witnesses however were unable to determine the type of weapons used by the robbers, he said.

"The group went straight to the BNI ATM located nearby the supermarket's front gate," he said.

"Then they went for the cellular phone counters which were inside the Goro supermarket," he said.

From the four counters the robbers stole cellular phones and accessories worth more than Rp 20 million.

He said the robbers also broke into a branch of Bank Bukopin inside the Goro supermarket building. However, they did not find any cash after ransacking the office, he added.

Sukoharjo is located 15 kilometers south of the Central Java town Surakarta, which has had many armed robberies lately.

On Thursday four robbers armed with two pistols stole Rp 28 million from an employee of PT Bumi Seta Cipta Lokajaya, who had withdrawn money from a Bank BCA branch in Surakarta.

Earlier this year, robbers shot two security guards and made off with Rp 650 million in a bank heist in the city.