Police arrest criminals targeting foreigners
Ni Komang Erviani, The Jakarta Post | Wed, 02/22/2012 12:04 PM
Police arrested two man believed to be members of two criminal gangs responsible for a string of robberies and purse-snatching incidents targeting foreigners in Kuta and Denpasar.
“The crimes that the gang has committed have caused anxiety among the expatriate community,” Denpasar Police chief detective Comr. Arif Sugiarto said Tuesday.
One suspect, identified as Handiono, was arrested in his house in Malang, East Java. The 41-year-old man had allegedly led burglary operations at six villas owned by foreigners in South Kuta and Canggu. His team consisted of four criminals.
“We are still pursuing the other suspects,” Arif said.
The gang’s most recent target was a villa in Pererenan, North Kuta. Burglars had previously broken into the villa in November 2011. They took a total Rp 300,000 (US$33) in cash, an LCD, a CPU and a speaker.
The gang apparently had also resorted to using violence. In August 2011, they broke into Villa Santika on Jl. Goa Gong, Ungasan Village, South Kuta, and injured its owner, British national John Keith Richar, 60, and his wife Nurhayati, 50. The gang members wielded sickles and machetes.
From Villa Santika, they took a total Rp 1.5 million in cash, a laptop, an LCD monitor and other valuables.
“The gang members usually returned to their respective villages in Java after their robberies.”
The second suspect, identified as NK, was believed to be a member of a gang of purse-snatchers. He was arrested at his rented room on Jl. Kalimutu in Denpasar. The police are still searching for NK’s partner, identified only as B.
NK confessed to snatching the purses of foreigners at seven locations in the Kuta and Seminyak areas.
“They usually operate during the night, targeting foreigners who were walking back to hotels after partying in clubs around Kuta and Seminyak,” Bali Police senior officer Sr. Comr. Hari Ha-riadi said.
One of their victims was a Russian woman, Kozhaeva Lyudmila, 28. The pair tailed Lyudmila and moved against her in a street in Legian in February 2012. The pair made away with a digital camera and a gold necklace.
“They also used a toy gun to intimidate their targets,” Hari added.
