Police seek evidence linking bombing, bank raids

Police seek evidence linking bombing, bank raids

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta/Semarang

Police are currently seeking evidence as to whether the JW
Marriott Hotel bombing was financed by money stolen in May from a
bank and a money changer in separate incidents in Medan, North
Sumatra, as claimed by a suspect.

National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Erwin Mappaseng
told a press conference on Wednesday that one of the 11 suspects
in the robberies claimed that he gave some Rp 5 million (US$588)
out of the takings "to finance his group's activities".

The suspect, identified as Tony Togar, was arrested in the
Riau capital, Pekanbaru, early in June.

Four robbers, led by Tony, managed to get away with Rp 133
million in cash from a branch of Lippo Bank in Medan on May 6.
Two security guards were killed in the robbery and police have
yet to arrest the other perpetrators although they claim they
already have sketches of them based on descriptions provided by
eyewitnesses.

Tony is also believed to have been behind the robbery of tens
of thousands of dollars from a money changer in Medan in June.

The police, Erwin said, believed that the money was partly
used to finance the Marriott bombing.

This confession, however, raises questions as earlier Asia's
most wanted terrorist suspect, Hambali, who was arrested in
Thailand, was said to have transferred $45,000 to a Malaysian,
Lili, in June. Lili was also believed to be in Thailand at that
time.

Lili then transferred the money to Idris, who was arrested by
police in June, and is currently in the custody of the Thai
police.

Idris has been declared a suspect, along with 10 others, in
the Marriott bombing on Aug. 5 that killed 12 people and wounded
147 others. He is also believed to be the one who recruited Asmar
Latin Sani and Tohir, the alleged perpetrators of the bombing.

That Asmar died in the blast was confirmed after police
conducted a DNA test on some body parts found at the scene, while
Tohir is still on the loose.

The Bali bombings were also financed by the takings from
robberies. These blasts in the tourist resort of Kuta on Oct. 12,
2002, killed 202 and injured around 300 others.

One of the suspects, Imam Samudra, who is currently standing
trial, was said to have robbed a jewelry store in Banten to
finance the bombings.

"These people believe that they did fa'i (in perpetrating the
robberies)," Erwin said.

Fa'i refers to the group's belief that they were not stealing
from others but only claiming their rights.

Another suspect, Amrozi, was given the death penalty by
Denpasar District Court on Aug. 7.

The police are still searching for Malaysians Dr. Azahari and
Noor Din Mohd Top due to their alleged involvement in the
Marriott bombing.

Azahari, believed to be an active bomber, and his accomplice
Dulmatin, have been on the police's wanted list for their role as
the bombmakers in the Bali bombings.

In Semarang, Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Didi
Widayadi said that the authorities had closed some 10 bank
accounts belonging to unidentified people for alleged involvement
with unidentified terror network in the province.

Didi did not name the banks.

He said that the police have detected that those accounts have
been used by the network to save money allegedly obtained from
several robberies against bank clients across Central Java.

"Our preliminary investigation reveals that the money was used
for terrorism," Didi told reporters after the signing of MoU
between the police and Bank Indonesia representative in Semarang
over bank protection.

Didi said that the police have yet to trace where the money
disbursed to as "Mr. X (the robbery mastermind) has yet to be
arrested".

There were a total of 39 robberies against bank clients
recorded from 2002 to Aug. 2003 in 16 towns in Central Java.
Police estimated that the robbery gang has 39 members. The
robbers have killed three people and injured 12 others during
their operations.

As many as 10 of the robbers have been arrested while three
were shot to death by police, Didi said.

"The police must act resolutely against robberies. The
raiders often shoot indiscriminately, so the police must be
faster," said Didi, adding that police officers were permitted to
shoot raiders if necessary.

Moerdjono, a BI representative, admitted that some banks had
inadequate security equipment, and frequently employed
unqualified security guards to protect their premises.

"I've heard that many of them have no training as security
guards," he said.