Police dispose of explosives at sea
JAKARTA (JP): In an effort to render ineffectual the recently seized explosives, the Jakarta Police on Thursday supervised the sinking of 1,669 explosive devices in the Ancol sea at Mutiara beach.
"The sea has become a temporary safe house for these explosives now," Jakarta Police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Harry Montolalu laughingly told reporters at the Marina Ancol Harbor in North Jakarta.
Put into a huge fishing net, the explosive devices were sunk by officers of the National Police bomb squad into the waters of Mutiara beach, right behind the Sea and Air Police Corps station (Airud) in Penjaringan subdistrict, North Jakarta.
"The Tanjung Priok Port (KP3) Police are responsible for the security of these explosives, which have become police evidence. This is being done so that the fuse on each of them becomes completely wet and ineffective," Harry said.
"Otherwise a little heat could ignite some of them and that becomes dangerous."
As reported earlier, the Jakarta Police special crimes detection unit have arrested two men whom they are currently questioning and are seeking another following the discovery of 1,669 small explosive devices in a warehouse in Penjaringan on Tuesday afternoon.
Harry said earlier 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 were warehouse owner Suwandi, alias Along, 37, and warehouse security guard Roberto Wijaya Oei, 44.
Harry said that the explosives were illegal, since they had been brought into Jakarta using a police permit for the "import of firecrackers."
Having led the raid on the Penjaringan warehouse, located on Jl. Muara Baru Ujung No. 2A, Jakarta Police's special crimes unit chief Comr. Tatok Sudjiarto said on Wednesday that police were currently searching for the explosives' owner, identified as Oei Asin, who is currently at large.
"Even his wife, Then Kim Tjien, has fled. The family reside on Jl. Pasar Pagi in Roa Malaka subdistrict, North Jakarta," Tatok said. (ylt)