Kudus Police Arrest Antiquities Thief Worth IDR 800 Million

BETWEEN/Akhmad Nazaruddin Lathif.

The Kudus Police, Central Java, uncovered a case of theft of a number of antiques whose value reached Rp800 million, by arresting the perpetrator with the initials APW (28) along with evidence of dozens of antique collections that had been sold to other people.

"The case was revealed after the owner who had been living in Jakarta found out that various collections of antiques at his house in Langgar Dalem Village, Kota Kudus District disappeared. Then report it to the Kudus Police through the City Police," said Kudus Police Chief AKBP Heru Dwi Purnomo as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, September 9.

In addition to successfully arresting the perpetrators, he said, his party also managed to secure all collections that had been sold in the online market.

The perpetrator of the theft, he added, turned out to be a relative, so he reasoned to borrow the house key from the guard to take care of it at night.

While at home, the perpetrator took pictures of the collectibles, then uploaded them to marketplaces or online markets for sale. The antiques sold for Rp. 80 million, well below the original price of Rp. 800 million.

Based on the search for the marketplace account, the police managed to track down the buyer and at the same time rediscovered the antiques that were sold. Subsequently, the perpetrator was secured at a friend's house in Jepang Pakis Village, Kudus.

The evidence that was successfully secured included 14 large hanging lights and four small hanging lights, six wooden crates, a set of rattan chairs, one copper barrel, one large bell, two wooden fans, two antique gramophones, one ancient radio, three ancient wall clocks, one pair of Javanese statues, and eight petromak lights.

For his actions, the perpetrator was charged with Article 363 of the Criminal Code concerning theft with a weight with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.