Police capture six terror suspects
Police capture six terror suspects
Apriadi Gunawan and Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Medan/Semarang
North Sumatra Police have arrested six alleged Aceh separatist
rebels, who they believe are responsible for planting bombs in
the provincial capital of Medan.
Police identified the six as Abdul Samat, 24,
Syaifuddin, 31, Syaifullah, 30, Anwar, 20, Idris Roni
alias Pek Ri, 58, and Tengku Usman, 28.
Two of the suspects -- Abdul Samat and Syaifuddin -- were
captured in the Jl. Gajah Mada area, Medan, while four others
were caught on Jl. Ujung Bateng in Belawan.
The six are charged with a bombing near the Amplas junction on
Jan. 5. No one was injured in the blast, which took place in an
empty house.
Hours later, the police found another unexploded bomb at the
nearby Sukaramai market.
Police said the two bombs were identical and equipped with
timers, used wet batteries and were placed inside a
25-centimeter-long pipe.
Medan Police chief Sr. Comr. Bagus Kurniawan said the suspects
confessed to planning the attack on the orders of Marzuki, the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leader for North Aceh.
Police were continuing to search for Marzuki who was also
allegedly involved in the 2003 blast at the Medan mayor's office.
That blast was believed to be masterminded by Medan Deli's GAM
leader Abdul Wahal," Bagus said.
Bagus said police believed Abdul Samat and Syaifuddin were
also involved in many other bombings in East Aceh.
He said police had sufficient evidence to prove all six
suspects were GAM members.
Syaifuddin, interviewed by The Jakarta Post, admitted to have
been involved in the blasts in East Aceh and Amplas but denied he
was a GAM member. He said he took part in the bombings for money.
"I was given Rp 100,000 (US$12) by Marzuki after the homemade
bomb exploded at the Amplas crossroad area," Syaifuddin said,
adding that he was assigned to detonate the bomb after it was
assembled by others.
Another suspect, Anwar, told a similar story, saying he was
given Rp 100,000 by Marzuki after planting the bomb at the
Sukaramai market.
He said he planted the bomb at 3 a.m. on Jan. 6. The bomb was
designed to explode nine hours later.
"I don't know who Marzuki really is. But because he offered me
money, I accepted the job," Anwar, a pedicab driver, said. He
also denied being a GAM rebel.
Bagus said the police had sufficient evidence to prove the six
suspects were all GAM members.
In a separate development, the Semarang Prosecutor's Office in
Central Java said four terror suspects would stand trial on Jan.
19 on charges of possessing and keeping explosives, detonators,
firearms and thousands of bullets.
The four -- Heru Setiawan alias Suyatno, Joko A alias Luluk,
Machmudi Haryono alias Yusuf, and Siswanto alias Antok -- were
rounded up in a rented house at Jl. Taman Sri Rejeki Selatan 7 in
Kalibanteng Kidul neighborhood, Semarang.
Police found the explosives and munitions on July 11, last
year.
The trials will be held at Marina Hall rather than the
Semarang District Court building for security reasons, Semarang
chief prosecutor Sutiyono said on Tuesday.
The four will be tried separately at the same venue, Sutiyono
said. Twelve prosecutors will handle the case.