Dog digs up hundreds of bullets; police explore possible terror links
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar
Police are looking into the recent discovery of hundreds of live bullets buried in a yard outside a rented house in Sidakarya area here, but say it is premature to conclude that the bullets had been intended to be used to launch new terror attacks.
It was a dog that discovered the 361 bullets of various calibers stashed in the ground on Thursday afternoon.
Owner of the house, Meta, said she noticed several bullets dug up the dog and immediately alerted nearby police about the find.
Denpasar Police chief Sr. Comr. Dewa Made Parsana said on Friday that police were upgrading the investigation into the discovery, and were currently questioning Meta.
"Of the 361 bullets, 250 are 22 caliber, 49 are 38 caliber, 44 are 40 caliber, and 18 are 7.62 millimeter," Parsana said on the sidelines of the National Police's 49th anniversary ceremony here.
Parsana said Meta had told police about a former tenant, identified as Hendry Yuliadi, who was once spotted digging and burying something inside the grounds.
According to Meta's information, Parsana added, Hendry had claimed that he was from Negara in Jembrana city, however his occupation was not known.
Hendry used to carry a backpack, the officer said.
After looking into the matter, the police found that the person in question had passed away around two years ago at the Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar from a brain cancer.
Nevertheless, Bali Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. AS Reniban said Hendry's death would not halt the investigation into the origin of the bullets.
"All possible theories about these live bullets are being examined. We're still wanting to find the motive behind the stashing of the bullets, thus it's premature to connect it with a possible terror attack in Bali," said Reniban.
He added that the police had been receiving short text messages informing them that a number of vehicles transporting explosive materials were entering Bali.
"But it's not certain that it's related to these bullets," Reniban said.
Bali was rocked by bomb attacks in October 2002 that killed 202 people, mostly foreign holidaymakers.