The Jambi Regional Police’s Directorate of General Criminal Investigation has unveiled a theft syndicate involving stolen oil condensate from an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation. The incident took place in Rantau Karya, Geragai District, East Tanjung Jabung Regency, Jambi Province. According to the Director of General Criminal Investigation of the Jambi Police, Police Commissioner, on Friday, September 15, 2023, seven suspects with different roles were apprehended.
One of the suspects, identified as M, was responsible for connecting a special hose from the oil company’s pipeline to a tank truck used to transport the stolen oil condensate. Another suspect, K, acted as the truck driver while AN arranged transportation for the perpetrators to reach the crime scene (TKP). R, another suspect, also served as a truck driver. I was the coordinator, F provided the truck, and Y acted as the buyer or container for the stolen oil. Out of the seven arrested suspects, three others are still on the Wanted List (DPO).
The Police Commissioner explained that the incident came to light when the oil company’s team reported an anomaly in the pressure of the condensate oil pipeline from Bayung Lincir to Geragai. Subsequently, the oil company conducted patrols along the pipeline route and discovered a Fuso tanker engaged in condensate oil suction activities from the pipe at KM pipe 85, which was the TKP. The oil company immediately apprehended four individuals suspected of being the perpetrators, along with the Fuso tanker and a minibus, and reported the incident to the Jambi Regional Police.
Based on the report, investigators from the Jambi Regional Police’s Directorate of General Criminal Investigation promptly visited the location to examine the crime scene, secure evidence, and process the area where the equipment used to siphon condensate oil from the company’s pipeline to the suspects’ tank truck was found. The investigators made significant progress in uncovering the network of perpetrators involved in the theft and managed to arrest three more individuals. These arrests took place in different locations and at different times, namely in Jambi City, West Tanjung Jabung Regency, and Dumai, Riau Province.
The motive behind the theft was the perpetrators’ desire to profit by selling the stolen oil condensate to containers in Riau Province. It was revealed that the suspects had committed this crime multiple times at the same location. Their modus operandi involved conducting field surveys to identify the oil drilling point. Afterward, they drilled the company’s pipe and installed taps, hoses, and a pump machine to drain the condensate oil from the pipe to a tanker truck located hundreds of meters away.
The incident resulted in a loss of IDR 7 billion for the oil company, excluding the costs of repairing the perforated pipeline. In addition to apprehending the seven suspects, the police confiscated a tanker truck carrying stolen oil condensate, a minibus, iron clamps and bolts, a pump machine, a 1.5-inch diameter clear hose measuring 227 meters in length, an iron faucet and its connections, tarpaulin, and several cellphones.
For their actions, the suspects are liable under Article 363 Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, in conjunction with Article 55 of the Criminal Code, subsidiary to Article 480 of the Criminal Code, which deals with Aggravated Theft. If convicted, they face a maximum prison sentence of seven years.