POLICE SHOOT DEAD FOUR GOLD SHOP ROBBERY SUSPECTS

Jakarta, Aug 28 (ANTARA) - Jakarta police on Thursday night (Aug 27) shot dead four members of a gang suspected of having committed at least two gold shop robberies.

Two other members of the group were arrested, according to the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Communication and Information Center on Friday.

After locating each of them at different places, police were compelled to shoot the four as they tried to resist arrest using fire arms.

They were identified as Busri (46), Purwanto (32), Sidik (34), and Marjo alias Bejo (36), with Busri believed to be the gang leader. The two arrested robbery suspects were Setiawan (30) and Arifudin (32).

During their operations, the police also seized two fire arms from the suspects who police had found respectively in Bintaro (south Jakarta), Lebak Bulus (south Jakarta), Kampung Melayu (east Jakarta) and Pasar Minggu (south Jakarta).

The group was suspected to have robbed at least two jewelry stores, namely one in Pesing, west Jakarta, and another in Kosambi, Tangerang, just outside Jakarta's western outskirts.

In Pesing , they took away 1.5 kilograms of gold jewelry on August 21, 2009 when most people were in mosques for Friday prayers.

Only a few days later, on August 25, they struck in Kosambi where they got away with six kilograms of gold ornaments after immobilizing a shop attendant.

The bodies of the four dead suspects were taken to the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for autopsies and the two arrested ones to the Jakarta Police Headquarters.