Three Arrested in Depok for Robbery Using Dating App to Lure Victims

Police have arrested three robbery suspects who operated in the Depok area of West Java. The perpetrators used a gay dating application called ‘Hornet’ to target their victims. The scheme was initiated by a suspect with the initials AH, who created an account on the application using someone else’s identity. AH then searched for and profiled potential targets. “Once the suspect was confident, AH would invite the victim to meet and pick them up near their boarding house or home. The suspect AH would then take the victim on a motorbike to a secluded location, typically a cemetery or an area near a cemetery,” said AKBP Made Gede Oka Utama, Head of Criminal Investigation at the Depok Metro Police, to reporters on Monday (27/7). At the predetermined location, two other suspects, identified as KA and S, were already waiting. Once the victim arrived, the pair immediately launched their attack. “The other suspects were waiting behind and would rob or drag the victim by knocking them down, seizing their belongings, assaulting them, tying them up with rope and duct tape, and abandoning them after stripping them of their assets,” Made explained. Made revealed that the robberies were particularly brutal. In one instance, a victim was beaten and left in a cemetery with his clothes removed. “The victim was left alone at the scene with his hands tied and his mouth taped shut,” he said. The series of robberies came to light after one victim reported the crime to the authorities. Following an investigation, police arrested the three suspects in the Cilodong area of Depok on Sunday (26/7). The investigation revealed that the trio had carried out the scheme three times: in Cilodong on Monday (20/7), in Tapos District on Friday (24/7), and finally in Jatimulya on Saturday (24/7). The three suspects have been named as such and are currently in detention. For their actions, they are charged under Article 479 of the Criminal Code on violent theft, which carries a maximum penalty of nine years’ imprisonment.