More than a thousand members of a civilian security patrol group rallied on Thursday at the legislative council building in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, to protest against police officers they say stole Rp 800 million ($89,000) from them.

Members of the security group, which calls itself Bujak, demanded the removal of Central Lombok’s police chief for allegedly leading a search inside the home of the group’s leader and stealing the money.

Leaders of the legislative council agreed to meet with the group, which claims to have 180,000 members, and hear its demands.

“Please listen to our plea. Police officers have robbed us,” said one Bujak member, Amaq Mai.

A coordinator of the rally, Muhammad Izzi, said dozens of officers from the Central Lombok district police broke into the house of Bujak head Rais Samsul on Monday.

He said the officers were led by the district police chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Budi Karyono, and that they took more than Rp 800 million that had been collected by Bujak members.

“We can’t report the case to the West Nusa Tenggara Police chief because we’re worried he’ll ignore us,” Izzi said.

He added that the police also took six motorcycles and a generator set.

According to witnesses, the police conducted their search of the house after several Bujak members decided to hold two police officers who had been accused of taking money from residents.

Bujak claimed that one of the police officers, Brig. Salman, owed money to many residents but had no any intention of paying them back.

Dozens of police officers, led by Budi and armed with guns, raided the house and freed the two officers, according to reports.

“But they took everything else with them,” Izzi said. “We demand they return our money and our property.”

As of Thursday, the local police had not responded to the accusations.

Civilian security patrol groups, called Pam Swakarsa, mushroomed in the province following the fall of President Suharto in 1998. Now almost every district has a group.

Two of the better-known groups, Pam Swakarsa Ababil and Amphibi, use operational vehicles for their patrols.

Members of the group wear military-like uniforms and use communication tools such as walkie-talkies.

However, instead of creating an atmosphere of safety, critics say these civilian security groups instill deep-seated resentment and terror in the region, in addition to sparking episodes of violence among local community members.

“We formed the organization because we don’t believe in the police,” Amaq Mai said.

“They have failed to do their job,” he added. “You see what has happened to us now.”