Three 'car strippers' nabbed

JAKARTA: The Jakarta Police revealed on Thursday that they had arrested three "car strippers," a term used for people who disperse parts of stolen vehicles and sell them, on Tuesday.

Police seized from them 17 chassis of Toyota Kijang, Suzuki Carry and Mitsubishi T120SS minivans. They also confiscated auto parts such as bumpers, dashboards, doors and engines, and a Suzuki pick-up.

The suspects told the investigators that they bought from car thieves Kijang minivans for Rp 6.5 million (US$764) and Suzuki Carry's for Rp 4.5 million.

The arrests followed a tip-off from residents living nearby the suspects' workshop in Serpong, Tangerang. Police detectives arrived at the workshop within an hour and caught red-handed four people disassembling a black Suzuki Carry minivan using basic tools.

The officers apprehended the four and managed to obtain the names of their leaders. Later, police released three suspects as they were not proven to be members of the group but only hired mechanics. -- JP