Two men arrested for robbery in E. Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): The East Jakarta police have arrested two men believed to belong to a 10-member gang of armed robbers in the area.

"Two others have died while at least six others, whose identities are known, are still at large," Jakarta Police Spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said yesterday. He did not reveal if the two were killed while resisting arrest.

One of the two men arrested recently is a soldier at the Air Defense battalion in Bintaro, South Jakarta. He is identified as M. Zaenawi, alias Nawi, alias Adi.

Based on preliminary police questioning, a .32 mm caliber Vikers gun which was allegedly used by the robbers in a number of robberies came from Zaenawi, a driver of an Army major general.

Zaenawi was arrested on Saturday at his home in Bulak Duku, Cibubur, based on tips from one of the group members, Darmadi Ali, who was apprehended two weeks earlier in Ciracas.

Iman said that the group had committed at least eight robberies in the city.

"The gang members, who always used a Kijang minivan with fake number plates, used guns and other weapons in their operations," Iman said.

A reliable source at the East Jakarta police precinct, said Zaenawi admitted to taking part in a series of robberies with the group.

The soldier said he was only the driver of the group.

Zaenawi is now being interrogation at the Jakarta Police Military Headquarters.

At his home at Cibubur, police seized Rp 171 million in cash, the car used in their operations along with a number of handmade guns, bullets of different calibers and sharp weapons.

The police are looking into the possibility that it may have been the same group that robbed the home of a former cabinet minister last month in East Jakarta. (bsr)