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Police on the hunt for cable thieves
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Jakarta Water Management Agency workers collect cable jackets clogging the waterways on Jl. Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta on Friday. The Jakarta administration is clearing waterways as part of its flood mitigation efforts.
(Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
P
olice are in pursuit of those responsible for the theft of cables, the jackets of which were disposed of in the waterways of high-security areas in Jakarta.
The cable jackets, which filled 20 trucks, were initially believed by Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama to be part of a plan to sabotage the city’s flood mitigation efforts.
Police believe that the thieves worked in groups. "We want to arrest the thieves immediately. We know what they look like,” Jakarta Police special crimes division head Mujiono told journalists at City Hall on Thursday.
The thieves are said to have pealed off the jackets of the stolen cables inside the underground waterways. The cable jackets were found by Jakarta Water Management Agency workers tasked with monitoring flooding in the city.
Police believe the used cables installed inside the underground waterways are owned by state-owned electricity company PLN and state-owned telecommunication company Telkom.
The officers took the remaining piles of cables found 3 meters below the ground to be examined to determine the owners of the cables.
Police officers found several items while carrying out a search in the waterways, including headlamps, saws, handspikes, tarpaulin, raffia and small hammers suspected to be used by the thieves to dig and rip open the cable reels. Other items found were shorts, underwear, spoons and food packets.
"From our investigation and based on information from witnesses, we conclude that the cable jackets were left by the thieves,” Mujiono added. (bbn)
