Police shoot two in theft ring bust

Indah Setiawati ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Wed, 01/28/2009 3:23 PM  |  Bali

Bali Police have cracked a theft syndicate they believe is responsible for a spate of crimes that targeted foreign visitors at the island's popular tourist spots.

Members of the syndicate usually aimed at small, valuable items, such as cellular phones, jewelry, watches, handbags and wallets.

Victims were usually robbed when strolling along streets or intoxicated in poorly lit bars and cafes.

The Denpasar Police, which launched the operation against the syndicate last Saturday, have officially named five of six apprehended individuals as suspects and are looking for three more. Two suspects, identified as Bulit and Yatim, were shot in the leg after trying to escape arrest.

Head of Denpasar Police's Crime division Comr. Rendra Raditya Dewayana said on Tuesday that his men made an important breakthrough when they managed to nab I Nyoman Alit, aka Bulit, who was previously arrested and spent six months behind bars in 2002 for stealing pigs.

"We eventually nabbed him at the Holiday night club in Seminyak on Saturday at around 12 a.m.," he said of the suspect.

Bulit tried to escape when he was being escorted to the police station. The officers fired several shots and wounded him in the leg.

Bulit, who admitted to stealing two motorcycles, three mobile phones, jewelry, a watch and a Sony Playstation console, provided critical information that led the officers to Ketut Wira Antara, aka. Lenju, and I Wayan Ferry Gunawan, who co-own a cellular phone shop on Jl. Pulau Moyo in Denpasar.

Bulit claimed that Lenju and Gunawan fenced the stolen goods.

When the officers raided the cellular shop, they found Gunawan trying to burn a bank account book belonging to one of the syndicate's victims.

In the raid, the officers also arrested Muhammad Darrin, a courier, but he was later cleared of any wrongdoings.

Gunawan later provided the officers with the identities of the other suspects, including Yatim and Iwan Kasnadi.

The police raided Yatim's and Kasnadi's boarding house on Jl. Nusa Kambangan in Denpasar and shot Yatim when as he tried to resist arrest.

"Yatim was burning a passport of a French national when we broke into the boarding house. This man has stolen more than 50 mobile phones, targeting young women in cafes and drunken tourists," Rendra said.

He said police handed Kasnadi, who had stolen 25 mobile phones, to the Gianyar Police, because most of his crimes were committed in that regency.

Meanwhile, Yatim told reporters that police officers blind folded him with a strip of duct tape before shooting him.

"I don't know why they shot me. I surrendered," he said.

 

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