Atrium bombing suspect arrested in Aceh, police claim drug ties
Atrium bombing suspect arrested in Aceh, police claim drug ties
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
The Pidie Police announced on Saturday that they had arrested a
man suspected of involvement in the bombing of a shopping plaza
in Jakarta two years ago.
The suspect, identified as 34-year old Abdullah Yassin, was
arrested in Gigieng village, Pidie, Aceh during an operation 10
days ago, the police chief, Sr. Comr. Agus Salim, said.
"Our preliminary investigation reveals that the bombing at the
Atrium Senen Plaza occurred due to rivalry between marijuana
mafia groups that supply marijuana to Jakarta from Aceh," Agus
told reporters.
According to Agus, Yassin had told police investigators that
the bombing was carried out by groups under the leadership of Yos
and Tengku. No further details were given about Yos and Tengku.
Agus did not mention the exact bombing case because there were
two blasts at the plaza in 2001. The first was that in August and
the second was in September.
A Jakarta court has sent some of the perpetrators of the first
bombing, which injured six people including one of the bombers,
to prison. The group that carried out the first bombing was
possibly linked to the regional terrorist network Jamaah
Islamiyah (JI).
The police declared that the second bombing was linked to the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Aznani, the wife of Tengku Ismuhadi, an
Acehnese jailed for life for the JSX bombing in 2000, has been
declared a suspect in the case although she is longer under
police detention.
The police also named another man, identified as Ramli, as a
suspect. Ramli remains at large.
The police have yet to determine whether Yassin is a member of
GAM.
Agus also said that Yassin had admitted that he bought
smuggled marijuana while residing in Jakarta. The police raided
his home in South Jakarta last year but he managed to escape to
Aceh.
Agus said police released Yassin on the request of his family,
to give him some time to celebrate Idul Fitri with his family.
However, the police took him into custody again on Thursday.
"Based on an intelligence report, it is likely that he was
involved in the (Atrium) bombing case in Jakarta," Agus said.
Yassin is currently being held at the Pidie Police Station,
about 112 kilometers east of Banda Aceh. His interrogation is
expected to resume on Monday following the arrival of officers
from Jakarta.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Military said on Saturday that it
had killed five suspected GAM members and arrested a man believed
to be a high-ranking GAM official and four women, who are said to
be members of GAM's female wing Inong Balee, during operations in
the province on Friday and Saturday.
Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki, the spokesman of the military
administration in Aceh, said that police confiscated a machete, a
Colt pistol, two walkie-talkies, a pair of shoes and a green
shirt on separate operations in six locations. There had been 13
shootouts during the operations.
The suspected Inong Balee members, who were arrested in Pidie
on Friday, are currently being detained at the Pidie Police
Station.
The military has claimed that they have killed more than 1,100
GAM members and seized 485 weapons since the imposition of
martial law in May. Some 2,000 other GAM members have also been
arrested or surrendered, it claimed. GAM is believed to have
5,000 members before the government declared martial law in the
province on May 19.