Police hunt down financial backer of Noordin's network

Police hunt down financial backer of Noordin's network

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Makassar

Police are currently looking for an East Java resident believed
to be a financial backer of terrorist operations led by Noordin
M. Top and the now dead Azahari bin Husin, as part of efforts to
halt terror activities in the country and capture Noordin.

State news agency Antara quoted an intelligence source as
saying that police were trying to locate the whereabouts of 34-
year-old Edy Prayitno and were conducting close surveillance on
many houses including that of Eddy's former wife in Madiun, East
Java.

The woman, only identified as LS, claimed that she did not
know where Edy was, saying that the last information she had was
that the businessman had run away to Lampung, Sumatra.

Edy left his wife more than two years ago becoming an exporter
of unskilled workers to Malaysia.

Madiun Police chief Sr. Comr. Ondang Sutarna refused to
comment on the investigation saying that he had to confirm the
information with his boss first.

The country's security authorities led by the National Police
antiterror squad Detachment 88 are currently conducting a manhunt
for Noordin and his followers. Noordin's partner in terror,
Azahari, a bombmaker from Malaysia, was killed during a Nov. 9
raid in East Java. However, during a raid on the same day in the
Central Java city of Semarang, Noordin managed to escape, raising
concern that militants would still be capable of launching terror
attacks. The two men had been accused of masterminding a series
of bomb attacks.

Although the most recent information says that Noordin might
still be hiding in Central Java, there is a possibility that he
had also moved to Madiun, which is close to the Central Java
border.

Separately in West Java, local police were carrying out a
massive manhunt operation in the West Java-Central Java sea
borders in a bid to find the Malaysian fugitive.

Using two speedboats owned by West Java's water police
division, the officers conducted a thorough search of fishing
boats owned by local fishermen and as well as several big ships
sailing across the waters near Cirebon over the weekend.

Police officers scrutinized identity documents held by seamen
and ship crew members in a bid to locate undercover terrorists
aboard the ships.

"We were ordered by the West Java police chief to conduct the
operation since there was information that Noordin and his
followers were trying to enter West Java by sea," said Water
Police operation division chief Comr. Suhermin.

Meanwhile in Makassar, South Sulawesi, an antiterror squad on
Saturday arrested KS, suspected to be a member of a terrorist
network, at his house.

Kota Besar police chief Sr. Comr. R.M. Kurniawan explained
that KS was arrested because there were reports from the public
that KS was involved in terrorist activities.

The police found a samurai sword, ammunition for 45mm weapon,
as well as several documents and VCDs. The contents of the
documents and VCDs have not been revealed.