Former Banda Aceh mayor detained

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: A former Banda Aceh mayor, who was wanted since a week ago on charges of corruption, was arrested on Thursday, police and prosecutors said.

Zulkarnain was nabbed in a traffic raid in Simpang Surabaya, Banda Aceh, the capital of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, at 2:30 p.m.

The suspect was returning from Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport, local prosecutor Muhammad Adnan said. "He (Zulkarnain) had probably arrived from Jakarta or Medan," he added.

Zulkarnain was named a suspect on Jan. 7 in a Rp 3.5 billion (US$421,686) corruption case involving funds benchmarked for the people's economic development. He had disappeared from view until his arrest.

In detention, he declined to comment on his charge. "We'll see," he said. -- JP