Police arrest 2, seize 1,669 explosive devices

Police arrest 2, seize 1,669 explosive devices

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Police special crimes detection unit
(Tipiter) arrested two men for questioning and are hunting
another following the finding of 1,669 small explosive devices in
a warehouse in Penjaringan, North Jakarta, on Tuesday afternoon.

City police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Harry Montolalu said
on Wednesday that the explosives were imported from a Chinese
factory and had arrived in Jakarta by sea.

He identified the factory as Sunny International Fireworks Co.
Ltd. and those arrested as warehouse owner Suwandi, alias Along,
37, and warehouse security guard Roberto Wijaya Oei, 44.

"These men are only involved with the warehouse. Anybody can
rent the warehouse from them and store anything they want in it,"
Harry told reporters.

Despite the fact that no link has been found as yet between
the explosives and the recent nationwide wave of bomb blasts,
Harry said there was a significant possibility that these
explosives -- which bear "extremely dangerous" hazard warnings --
were illegally brought into Indonesia in order to be "doctored"
by experts.

"These explosives could easily be doctored by bomb-making
experts to produce blasts of much, much higher intensity. They
could have been made into high explosive bombs," Harry asserted.

He said that the explosives were illegal, since they were
brought into Jakarta -- by PT Trijaya and importer PT Idiraya
Multi Sarana -- using a police permit for the "importation of
firecrackers."

"The permit was for importing firecrackers, and was signed on
Oct. 3, 2000. It is also clearly written on the permit that as
soon as the firecrackers arrived in Jakarta, the owner must
inform National Police Headquarters of their arrival for security
purposes. This was not done," Harry said.

The permit was made out in the name of Agustino, the import
manager of PT Idiraya Multi Sarana, whose offices are located at
Jl. Gorontalo II No. 4, Tanjung Priok, according to Harry.

Having led the raid on the Penjaringan warehouse, located at
Jl. Muara Baru Ujung No. 2A, special crimes unit chief Comr.
Tatok Sudjiarto said on Wednesday that police were currently
searching for the explosives' owner, who is currently at large.

"His name is Oei Asin. Even his wife, Then Kim Tjien, has
fled. They reside on Jl. Pasar Pagi in Roa Malaka subdistrict,
North Jakarta," Tatok told The Jakarta Post.

Tatok said that his team had acted following a tip-off from an
informant in the Penjaringan area.

"We received the tip-off at about 11 a.m. on Tuesday. I went
with my team to the location. We raided the place and found
hundreds of packages containing explosives and firecrackers,"
Tatok said.

The police seized over 3,800 firecrackers in the raid.

The explosive devices were of at least seven different sizes,
ranging from the smallest of tennis-ball size up to mortar rounds
the size of watermelons.

A warning on one of the mortars read: "Extremely Dangerous!
This product is for professional use only. Directions for firing:
Bury 3/4 of mortar in ground. Gently lower shell into bottom of
mortar with fuse end facing up. Do not use fuse as handle. Do not
force shell down.

"Remove colored paper cap from fuse and ignite. The shell is
constructed to fire instantly.

"Absolutely do not position any part of human body or anything
else over mouth of mortar at any time." (ylt)