Police arrest key suspect in deadly Bali bombing

Police arrest key suspect in deadly Bali bombing

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Less than two months after the Bali bombings, police arrested on
Thursday Imam Samudra, the alleged mastermind of the deadly
attacks, at Merak port, Banten province, some 90 kilometers west
of Jakarta.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said Samudra, who
goes by six aliases, was arrested while on a bus heading for
Sumatra.

"Imam Samudra was arrested at 5:30 p.m. on board a Kurnia Line
bus that was about to go aboard the ferry to Sumatra," Da'i said.

Da'i said police were acting on a tip from Rauf and Yudi, who
were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

It is not yet clear how police investigators came to arrest
the two or what their relationship with Imam Samudra is.

"He (Imam) was not carrying any weapon. He did not resist
police arrest," the police chief said.

Da'i refused to reveal where Samudra is being detained, but
local police chief Sr. Comr. Abdulrahman told AFP on Thursday
that Samudra was being taken from West Java to National Police
Headquarters in Jakarta.

It was not known whether he would be flown to Bali to join
Amrozi, the first suspect to be arrested for the attacks that
killed over 190 people and injured more than 300 others, mostly
foreigners.

Amrozi told police investigators earlier that Samudra alias Al
Fatih, Fat, Kudama, Abu Umar, or Heri, was the mastermind and
quartermaster for the deadly terrorist attacks, believed to have
been the worst since the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and
Washington last year.

Police said Samudra chaired meetings to plan the Oct. 12
nightclub terror bombings, identified the targets and gave the
order to carry them out.

Authorities have also identified Samudra, 35, as a leader of
Jamaah Islamiyah, a regional network the United Nations recently
put on its list of terrorist groups.

Police have described Samudra as a well-educated computer
expert and also a cool, calculated killer.

So cool, in fact, that after the bombing police believe he
remained on the resort island for four days inspecting the deadly
results of his handiwork.

Little or nothing is known about his motives although police
say he had visited Afghanistan.

Da'i said the arrest would hopefully shed further light on the
motives, explosives, and networks involved in the bombings.

So far, police are still in the dark about the source of the
explosives used in the Bali bombings which are claimed to have
been "scientifically planned" and precisely timed.

The first bomb exploded in Paddy's Cafe, killing eight people.
Six seconds later, the second bomb, which was the most powerful,
detonated in front of the Sari Club, followed by an explosion
close to the U.S. honorary consulate in Renon, Denpasar.

Police have thus far concluded that the explosives used in the
bombings were TNT, RDX, HMX, and PETN, though the Australian
Federal Police claimed to have found TNT and chlorate only.

"Hopefully, after this arrest (of Samudra), we will get the
whole story, including his role from the planning and execution
his escape after the bombings," said Da'i.

Da'i also said the arrest would help police solve a series of
bombings across the country since 2000.

Police have wanted Samudra since 2000 over the Christmas eve
bombings in 2000 which killed 19 people and injured dozens of
others, and a failed bombing attempt at the Atrium Plaza in 2001.

Samudra's name also came up following the finding discovery by
police of military-style training operations in Pandeglang, West
Java, which were believed to have been related to the bombings
that have occurred across the country.

He is also believed to have been behind the recent bombings in
Pekanbaru and Batam.

With Samudra's arrest, police are now still hunting down five
other suspects, Patek, Ali Imron, Wayan, Dulmatin and Idris, all
of whom are still at large.

Samudra's elder sister, Nunung, who was interviewed on SCTV
television, said news of the arrest "has been a heaviest blow for
our family."

She identified a photograph of Samudra as being her brother
but said she had not seen him for years.

"I do not believe that he is the mastermind ... he is too
young, there must be others above him."

Al-Qadar Faisal, a lawyer for the family, said Samudra's
mother Embay Badriah appeared shocked at the news of the arrest,
but also wanted to confirm that the man was really her son.

Embay Badriah said earlier this week that her son left home in
1990 for Malaysia to find work as soon as he graduated from his
Islamic high school with flying colors.

She never heard of him after that until he returned home in
2000, and left again a few hours later.

"He said he was going out to meet old friends but he never
came back."