KUCHING: The Sarawak Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has busted a gang of armed robbers from the Kalimantan province of Indonesia who had crossed the border into Sarawak to rob locals.

One man was arrested, two others escaped and one is still unaccounted for.

The man was arrested after a chase and a struggle with the police in a river bordering Kalimantan and Sarawak, at an oil palm plantation in Lundu at about 4.30am Sunday.

State CID Chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Dev Kumar said the gang of Indonesians had carried out an armed robbery at 3am before being nabbed.

“At about 3am today (Sunday), four masked robbers armed with machetes broke into a house at Batu Kawa (on the Sarawak side of border) and robbed a couple who were sleeping.

“The robbers ransacked the house, stole valuables and escaped with the couple’s car.

“At 4.30am, CID task force personnel patrolling the border area at Lundu saw a car heading into a plantation that leads towards the Indonesian border.

“The CID personnel gave chase and managed to intercept the car about 1km from the border.

“Three persons were seen fleeing from the car. Two escaped into the jungle in the darkness but we managed to arrest one after a struggle in the river,” he said.

The man arrested was a 29-year-old Indonesian from Entikong in Kalimantan. The fate of the fourth robber has yet to be determined.

SAC Dev said the car that was recovered was the same one stolen from the couple in the 3am robbery.

He said police found machetes, batons and stolen items like laptops, mobile phones, and watches inside the car.

“Police investigation show that this is the sixth robbery this year in the Padawan district committed by these crossborder robbers,” he added.

SAC Dev said police are still on the ground to hunt for the other robbers, but added that they may have already escaped across the border.-thestar