Police seek key suspect of bank robbery, bombing

JAKARTA (JP): Police are tracing the whereabouts of a forty- year-old man believed to be the mastermind behind the Hayam Wuruk Plaza explosion and the armed robbery attempt at the nearby Bank Central Asia (BCA) branch in West Jakarta last Thursday, police chief said on Wednesday.

Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said the man, identified only as Amir, might have left the capital immediately after the two incidents, which happened in a time span of about 15 minutes.

"We can pinpoint that he's the mastermind behind the explosion and the robbery attempt, based on confessions from arrested suspects," Noegroho said.

Police provided no other details about Amir, saying information about the suspect's background was currently limited.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said he had no leads on Amir's profession, but that he was an activist of a Muslim organization. He refused to provide further details.

Media reports said Amir was the leader of a Muslim organization called Angkatan Mujahiddin Islam Nusantara (AMIN) based in Bogor, south of here.

According to the reports, Amir and his accomplices received military-style training at a location in a remote area of Caringin Maseng subdistrict in Bogor.

At the camp, police reportedly found a house in which ten homemade bombs were discovered. The bombs were believed to have been bought in Lampung, southern Sumatra.

Earlier, Bogor police said the Caringin Maseng base was used by the group for military exercises, including bomb making, for at least four years.

When asked about the organization's alleged involvement in the two incidents and Amir's role in the group, Noegroho said police were yet to issue an official statement about the subject.

"I never said anything about the organization," the two-star general said.

In an attempt to help trace the suspect, police on Wednesday distributed photographs of Amir to the media, in the hope the public could provide a lead to his whereabouts.

The pictures, which were not current, were seized by detectives from Amir's second wife, who resides in the East Jakarta area.

Noegroho insisted on Wednesday that the two incidents (the blast and the robbery) in the Glodok Chinatown area were related.

However, he declined to reveal details, saying the cases were still unfolding.

He said the conclusion was based on a confession from one of the detained suspects.

Based on the preliminary investigation, police said the robbery was a purely criminal act, while the motive for the bombing remained unclear.

As of Wednesday, no suspects in the bombing case had been apprehended. In the robbery case, in which a bank security guard was killed, police have so far arrested 13 suspects.

The first two were arrested at the scene on Thursday with a FN-type weapon and Rp 53 million (US$6,125) in their possession. Another eight suspects were apprehended in the following days.

The latest three suspects were apprehended late Tuesday in Bogor. They were identified as Muhammad Yadi alias Fero, Edi Junaedi alias Mala and Abdul Rozak.

Istiqlal blast

When asked whether the two cases were related to Monday's powerful blast in the basement of the Istiqlal Grand Mosque in Central Jakarta, Noegroho said the answer could only be clarified once Amir was arrested.

"Only Amir and his accomplices know whether they also (are responsible) for the blast in the Istiqlal basement."

He said police had identified two men suspected of placing the explosive devices in the basement of the biggest mosque in the region. He said police had questioned dozens of people, including security guards, parking attendants and drink vendors at the mosque.

Police sketches of the two men's faces were distributed to the media.

A source close to the investigation said police had made connections between the three incidents but were reluctant to reveal their findings to the public.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that political motives were behind the incidents.

"These are all sensitive cases as police also deal with political conflicts... we must only unveil the criminal aspect (of the cases)."

He said a loosely structured organization had been established to disrupt the country in the run-up to the June 7 general election.

The blast caused the mosque Rp 500 million in losses.

Meanwhile, a bomb hoax created panic among employees and customers at a Hero supermarket on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon.

Another suspicious incident took place in Central Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon, when a black bag, found under the pedestrian overpass in front of the Bank Indonesia building, was thought to contain an explosive device.

The Gegana Bomb Squad rushed to the scene and took charge of the bag which weighed two kilograms. Antara reported last night that the bag was filled only with papers, believed to have been left by protesting discharged bank employees.

On Tuesday, the 19th century Catholic cathedral and state television station TVRI received bomb threats, both of which turned out to be hoaxes. (emf)