Suspected Jl. Sabang bomb blast mastermind arrested
Suspected Jl. Sabang bomb blast mastermind arrested
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Police have arrested the suspected
mastermind of a bomb blast which damaged the vacant Ramayana
department store on Jl. H. Agus Salim, also known as Jl. Sabang,
in Central Jakarta on Jan. 2.
City police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman told reporters
on Saturday that the alleged mastermind was identified as
Rosalina, 50, a director of a real estate agent.
Noegroho said police had detained Rosalina and one of her
accomplices, identified only as L, 34, at city police
headquarters for further investigation.
No information was available as to when Rosalina and her
accomplice were arrested.
"We are now looking for the alleged bomb-makers and other
possible accomplices," Noegroho said as quoted by Antara.
He explained that one of the men believed to be involved in
the bombing, identified as AM, was in hiding on Madura island in
East Java.
Noegroho said the motive behind the explosion was to plant
fear in the mind of the land owners, following a simmering
dispute between the owners of the land where the three-story
department store stands and the real estate agent after the
latter failed to persuade the land owners to sell their plot.
A police source close to the investigation said that Rosalina
reportedly paid Rp 125 million to four people to carry out the
bombing as part of her terror tactics to scare the land owners.
It is believed she was to make the plot available for state
Bank Dagang Negara.
In the incident, three bombs -- similar in size: round, 10
centimeters in diameter and five centimeters high, each with a
fuse -- were planted at different spots. Only one of them
exploded.
The two bombs which failed to detonate were rushed to the
National Police bomb squad Gegana's headquarters in Kelapa Dua in
East Jakarta for identification.
A source on the squad disclosed that the bombs were assembled
professionally and the bomb-makers used the flammable toxic
compound trinitrotoluene (TNT), which is only available to the
Armed Forces (ABRI).
The compound sells for a high price on the black market.
As reported, a bomb expert speculated about the motives and
the actors behind the bombing. He said the bombs cost more than
Rp 75 million, far too high a price for merely terrorizing the
land owners.
He said 10 kilograms of TNT could be bought on the black
market for Rp 20 million. (emf)