Gorries discharged as bomb squad chief

JAKARTA: The National Police has removed Brig. Gen. Gorries Mere as the Bomb Squad chief following the deadly blast outside the Australian Embassy here on Sept. 9, a credible police source said on Monday.

The source said police headquarters had named his deputy Sr. Comr. Bekto Suprapto, acting chief pending the appointment of a permanent replacement. Gorries, however, maintains his post as the head of drug investigations.

National Police chief of detectives and the direct superior of Gorries, Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung Sudjono, would not confirm the report. "This is a matter of police internal affairs, journalists do not need to know about it," he said.

Gorries sparked controversy in Indonesia and Australia in August when he took convicted Bali bomber Ali Imron to a cafe, a tactic he said was to help find the whereabouts of fugitive Malaysian bomb makers Azahari and Noordin Moh. Top.

Less than a month later a bomb detonated in front of the Australian Embassy, with the police blaming the two fugitives. -- JP