Tycoon nabbed for illegal possession of chemicals
Tycoon nabbed for illegal possession of chemicals
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung, West Java
West Java Police have detained a businessman, Yusuf Tjahyadi, for
illegal possession of 40 tons of chemicals that can be used to
make explosives, police said Tuesday.
Adj. Comr. Zul Azmi, head of West Java Police investigation
branch, said Jusuf, a resident of Jl. Semar, Bandung, was
arrested last Thursday after complaints of a foul smell coming
from his store on Jl. Holis in Bandung.
"Reports from local people prompted us to conduct a field
inspection. After observing the store for three days, we raided
the store and discovered a huge amount of chemicals," Azmi said.
Police declared Yusuf a suspect on Sunday and charged him with
Article 3 (3) of Emergency Law No. 12, 1951 on possessing,
controlling and selling explosives without a permit. The charges
carry a maximum sentence of life.
Police said Yusuf would also be charged with Environmental Law
No. 23, 1997, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in
jail, for exposing people in the area to a dangerous situation.
Authorities have moved to control the sale of chemicals after
the terrorist attacks in Denpasar, Bali, that killed more than
200 people and injured more than 300 others last Oct. 12.
Authorities have traced the explosives used by the suspected
terrorists to a chemical shop in Surabaya, East Java. The owner
of the store is now on trial.
On Tuesday, police investigators tested the chemicals, which
are now kept at Sumedang police station in Cikeruh, West Java, to
determine whether the chemicals were genuine or not.
Chemicals retrieved by police, according to Azmi, include
1,280 sacks of potassium chlorate, 300 sacks of potassium nitrate
and six gallons of potassium paramangarat.
On average, each sack weighs 25 kilograms.
Yusuf told police investigators that he started selling
chemicals in the 1990s.
Yusuf, according to police, had admitted that he had not
obtained a permit to sell the chemicals.
"He only got a business permit to sell chemical materials used
for the food and beverage industry, not for chemical goods such
as potassium, which could be used as explosives," Azmi said.
Yusuf told police that buyers of his chemicals came from
various backgrounds, including fishermen and firecracker
manufacturers.
He said he did not know if the explosives had not been misused
by buyers.