Toll road holdups top of the agenda for Jakarta police
JAKARTA (JP): National Police chief Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo ordered Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Nurfaizi on Monday to prioritize the handling of the alarming spate of armed robberies on buses and trucks on toll roads in Greater Jakarta.
"I have discussed with him the urgency of prioritizing these armed robbery cases," Rusdihardjo said after the short meeting with Nurfaizi.
He was referring to several armed robberies targeting public buses and trucks on busy toll roads connecting the capital and towns in neighboring West Java in recent weeks.
The robbers, usually working in groups of at least two men and armed with guns, sharp weapons and using a car, have also shot dead people who resisted their demands.
Rusdihardjo, who is a former chief of the National Police detectives directorate, did not reveal the full details of his order to Nurfaizi.
He acknowledged the Jakarta Police might need extra time to apprehend the robbers, who have been listed as the most wanted criminals by police in Bogor and Bekasi.
"Lack of police detectives (in Jakarta) and the increasing number of robberies have made it difficult for police officers to solve the cases within a short time," Rusdihardjo said.
"It could take a while before we get the suspects in these robberies."
In the past three months, police recorded at least nine of the robberies on the Jakarta-Cikampek and Jagorawi toll roads.
On the public buses, the robbers initially pretended to be passengers. When the buses were on the toll roads, they rose from their seats and pointed their weapons at the driver and the passengers.
In the case of the truck robberies, the robbers would typically drive in a car to overtake the vehicles, usually container trucks, to block their way. They rushed to the trucks and threaten the crews, who they bound and dumped at the side of the road. They proceeded to make off with the trucks and their contents.
The most recent case was the foiled hijacking of an empty truck in Setu, Bekasi, west of Jakarta, late on Saturday.
The truck, driven by Irwan Kurniawan, 29, was blocked by three men on Jl. Raya Cimuning.
One of the men, Ade Nauli, 25, who tried to drive away the truck, was caught and fatally beaten by Bantar Gebang residents and local ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers.
Ade's two accomplices are still at large.
Irwan said the three men ordered him at knifepoint to get out of the truck.
Irwan's screams alerted the ojek drivers and residents, who chased after the truck.
More people gathered on the way and they managed to stop the vehicles. Trapped by the mob, Ade was killed but his accomplices escaped in the confusion.
It followed a fatal armed robbery on Friday which has puzzled Bogor and Bekasi police detectives.
Five men wearing police uniforms and driving a van bearing military license plates hijacked a container truck loaded with socks for export.
The truck driver, Idris bin Mansur, 48, died after suffocating from the gag put over his mouth. His assistant driver, Ichsan, 20, survived after he managed to loosen the gag and screamed for help.
On Feb. 23, three unidentified men boarded Kramatjati bus bound for Pekalongan and robbed the 42 passengers on board.
One of the suspects shot the bus conductor, Masto Parno, 34, and a passenger to death, reportedly using an M-16 rifle. Two other passengers were wounded by the rifle shots. The robbers got off the bus on the Jagorawi toll road. (ylt)