Seven arrested for robbery

JAKARTA (JP): City police have arrested seven people suspected of being members of a group of robbers targeting houses in Greater Jakarta, an official said on Thursday.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said the seven were arrested on Tuesday in one of the suspects' house on Jl. Serdang Baru in the Kemayoran district of Central Jakarta.

"They claimed to have robbed dozens of houses in Jakarta, Tangerang, Bekasi and Depok," Lubis said, adding the robbers always used rental cars when robbing the homes.

The seven men, identified as Budi Riyanto, Bambang, Sunarto, Ari Juwanto, Eko, Prenggo and Bagas, committed the first robbery in December last year, Lubis said.

From the seven suspects, police confiscated three 20-inch television sets, three Pioneer laser disc players, two Sony video compact disc players, a Polytron stereo, two electric fans, a President suitcase and a Echolac suitcase, he said.

Police also seized crowbars, hammers and a number of screwdrivers believed to have been used in the crimes.

The suspects said they frequently obtained information on potential targets from ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers and housemaids.

"They entered the houses by breaking the front door or a window," Lubis said.

One of the suspects, Budi Riyanto, said on a good day they could earn at least Rp 50 million in a single robbery.

The group sold the stolen items on the black market in a number of areas in Jakarta, according to Lubis.

Another suspect, Bambang, was chosen to sell the goods to buyers at the black markets because he had worked at Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta where he helped sell smuggled electronic goods, Lubis added.

"The buyers knew me as a middleman for smuggled electronics," Bambang said. (emf)