Two robbers who police say targeted foreign tourists have been arrested in Bali’s Gianyar regency.
The suspects admitted to 14 counts of robbery in the last three months.
“They are specialists in snatching tourists’ mobile phones, waiting and stalking until their targets are off guard while using their phones to check Google Maps. That’s when they would snatch [the phone] from their victims,” I Made Ariawan P, who heads the Sukawati precinct, said in a statement.
Police said one of the incidents occurred as recently as June 15 and had involved a Russian tourist. In a motorbike, the suspects drove close to the victim and snatched their phone away, causing the tourist to fall from their vehicle. A police officer was near the scene at the time and managed to apprehend one of the two suspects. The other suspect was apprehended later at another location.
The suspects confessed to 14 different robberies in the past three months, eight of which were carried out on Jalan Sunset Road, Kuta, while the rest were carried out in Sukawati. Most of their victims had an iPhone, which the suspects later sold online to other parts of the country.
The suspects reportedly use the money for online gambling and to fulfill their daily needs, and are both ex-convicts for similar crimes.
Ariawan said they have been charged with assault and theft under Indonesia’s criminal code (KUHP), and face a maximum of 12 years in prison each.
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