The Jakarta Globe, December 17, 2013.
The National Police’s anti-terror unit on Monday arrested a suspected terrorist allegedly involved in a string of armed robberies in West Jakarta.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said Densus 88 arrested the suspect, identified as Ruli Alexander, 31 — also known as Iskandar — in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara.
He is suspected of having received Rp 47 billion ($3.8 million) from the Abu Roban terror group to recruit people for military training in Poso, Central Sulawesi.
Abu Roban, the former leader of the Mujahidin Indonesia Barat terrorist network, was killed by Densus 88 in Kendal, Central Java, in May. His network was allegedly responsible for a series of robberies and several terror attacks.
Ruli’s capture is the result of investigations following a police raid that led to the arrest of three other suspects this month. Included in that arrest was one person believed to be linked to the bombing of the Ekayana Buddhist center in West Jakarta on Aug. 4, where three people were injured.
National Police chief Gen. Sutarman said during a meeting with legislators at the House of Representatives on Monday that the suspect was apprehended during a raid at his home in Bekasi, West Java, where police allegedly found 87 firearms and 3,000 rounds of ammunition.
Boy, the police spokesman, said the suspect had been arrested last Wednesday, while two other terror suspects linked to other attacks were arrested in separate raids in Bekasi and Lamongan, East Java, on Sunday.
He said the two men were believed to be part of a terrorist cell responsible for the armed robbery on a jewelry store in Tambora, West Jakarta, and the shooting of a police officer in March.
One of them was believed to be in charge of raising funds for the group, including through criminal activities such as armed robberies. Other members of the same terrorist cell were previously involved in the robbery of a branch of CIMB Niaga bank in Medan, North Sumatra, in August 2010, in which a police officer was killed, and the accidental detonation of an explosive device in Depok in September last year.
In the Ekayana Buddhist center incident, two bombs placed in a plastic bag were dropped off outside the temple in Duri Kepa, West Jakarta.
One of the devices was triggered by cellphone and detonated as some 300 people were gathered inside. The second failed to explode.
With Christmas approaching, the National Police announced the mobilization of 87,000 personnel members throughout Indonesia or the festive season, with churches the main points of focus amid the arrests of terror suspects.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned last week of the possibility of terrorist attacks during the Christmas period that could be compounded by political tensions ahead of next year’s legislative and presidential elections.
He said last week that he had received a report from Sutarman of “entities who had plans to disrupt law and order in certain places.” All Indonesians, he emphasized, had a responsibility to ensure that their fellow citizens were able to celebrate their respective holy days in peace and safety.
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di 17 dec 2013 - 19:54