T

he North Sumatra Police say the robbers who killed a police officer and injured two security guards when they robbed a bank in Medan, North Sumatra, on Wednesday used fake vehicle license plates, hindering the police’s investigation.

Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharuddin Djafar said Friday that the police faced difficulties in finding the criminals because they had been following false leads.

“We followed the perpetrators based on the license plate numbers as seen in photos, but they were fake, making them difficult to trace,” Baharuddin told The Jakarta Post.

He added the police have deployed a special team — comprised of 50 officers from the National Police headquarters, the North Sumatra Police and the local police precinct — to capture the robbers.

He said the 50-person team was enough for the manhunt, as it would also receive assistance from local police officers

The police have no time table for capturing the perpetrators, but are determined to finish the job as soon as possible, he added.

“The sooner the better,” said Baharuddin, adding that the police had questioned 12 witnesses so far in their investigation.

CIMB Niaga Medan branch manager Irwansyah Lubis said he had high hopes that the police would capture the perpetrators as soon as possible.

He said he hoped the police would handle the case thoroughly to reassure the banking community, adding that the bank lost more than Rp 300 million (US$33,300) in the heist.

“It’s our operational fund and our customers’ funds that had been handed over to our tellers,” Lubis said during a press conference Friday, adding that the branch would re-open Monday.

The press conference was held prior to the funeral of First Brigadier Imanuel Simanjuntak of the police’s Mobile Brigade, who died after he was shot twice in the chest during the robbery.

Two security guards also shot at the bank were still in the hospital and are expected to recover.

In Jakarta, National police spokesman Insp. Gen. Iskandar Hasan said the witnesses questioned were the bank customers and employees. He declined to say if the robbers had inside help, citing the police’s ongoing investigation.

The police have checked the robber’s vehicle registration numbers and discovered the numbers were false.

The police are still investigating how the robbers obtained the AK 47s and M16 assault rifles they used in the robbery, Iskandar said.

“This has been our homework — to find out how these perpetrators could possess the firearms,” he told reporters on Friday.

Another police spokesman Comr. Marwoto Suto also said that border and water areas were prone to firearms smuggling.