City police team visits Pindad over recent blast
Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city police dispatched a team on Wednesday to the state-owned weapons and ammunition manufacturer, PT Pindad, in Bandung following the finding of a large haul of firearms and ammunition that was believed to be connected with recent blasts in the city.
The team of three, led by Comr. Putu Jayan, was to investigate any irregularities in the circulation of registered ammunition and firearms.
PT Pindad spokesman Timbul Sitompul told Antara that the company only sold arms and munitions to authorized institutions, namely the Indonesian Military and National Police.
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam denied any involvement on the part of the police or the military in the case.
A police detective, however, confirmed that the mastermind behind the blasts, who had been identified as Ramli, was a deserter from the Army. Ramli, along with six other suspects, are still at large.
The latest explosion to hit the city occurred on July 1 at the Graha Cijantung Mall in East Jakarta, which is owned by a foundation belonging to the Army Special Force (Kopassus).
The police have named five people as suspects and also linked them to the deadly bombing of the Stock Exchange Building in 2000, as well blasts at the Atrium Plaza last year and the ones on Jl. Hayam Wuruk, Central Jakarta, last month.
They are Syahrul, Atom, Ahmad, Mudawali and Bambang. All are from Aceh. While the police were not certain about their links to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the military accused the movement of being involved. Syahrul himself told reporters on Wednesday that he was not a GAM member, but he admitted that Ramli had asked him to keep firearms and ammunition in his rented house.
On Saturday the police found several grenades, homemade bombs, 20,000 rounds of ammunition, more than 160 magazines, several detonators, a pack of marijuana, Rp 50 million (US$5,555) in cash and some military-style uniforms in a rented house in Tapos village, Cimanggis, Depok.
Smaller hauls of ammunition were also found in Cibinong and Tangerang, Banten.