Friday, 23 September 2016
Indonesia busts Malaysian ship carrying fertiliser intended for making bombs
Hazardous material: Indonesian workers unloading sacks of ammonium nitrate that was illegally imported from Malaysia at a customs office in Denpasar. — EPA
DENPASAR: Indonesian authorities in Bali have detained a Malaysian ship carrying about 30 tonnes of fertiliser which police believe may have been intended for making bombs.
Customs and police are questioning the crew and investigating potential links to radical networks as the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation remains on high alert for militant attacks.
Police spokesman Hendra Suhartiyono said yesterday that authorities were looking into whether the material was on its way to Sulawesi, a region known for militant violence.
“We are looking into the possibility that this material could also be for the benefit of terrorist groups in Sulawesi to make low-impact and high-impact bombs,” he said.
Indonesia’s most-wanted man, a militant called Santoso, was killed by security forces in Sulawesi earlier this year.
Santoso, who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, cultivated a small radical network in the Poso area, which has now been severely weakened by a lengthy security operation.
“At the moment, the crew are being intensively examined on explosive material ammonium nitrate that was shipped from Malaysia,” Bali customs official Thomas Aquino said.
“They confessed that the boat was rented to be shipped to Sulawesi.
“They thought the material in the sacks was fertiliser.
“We will detain the crew.”
Indonesia saw its first militant attack in several years in January in which four people were killed.
The gun-and-bomb assault in the heart of Jakarta was claimed by Islamic State.
Last month, authorities tightened security in Bali after reports of a suspected militant plot on the island.
A nightclub bombing on the island in 2002 by home-grown militants killed 202 people, mostly Australians, and prompted a nationwide security crackdown. — Reuters
