Police Arrest 14 Terrorist Suspects in Different Locations

TheIndonesia.co - The Indonesian authorities arrested 14 people in three different provinces on Thursday, December 16, suspected as being members of terrorism group.

According to statement from the National Police (Polri), nine people in North Sumatra, one person in South Sumatra, and four people in Batam, Riau Islands were arrested within the same day by the counterterrorism unit Detachment 88 (Densus 88).

Polri’s spokesperson Chief Commissioner Ahmad Ramadhan explained on Friday that nine suspects in North Sumatra were arrested in two separate locations; seven of them were detained in Medan while the remaining two were in Tanjung Balai at the time of their arrest.

“All suspects are now in North Sumatra Regional Police,” Ramadhan said as reported by Antara.

Meanwhile, the four suspects in Batam were taken to Barelang Resort Police.

The police, however, hasn’t confirmed whether arrested suspects are member of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) or Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD)

One Suspect Is a Madrasa Principal

According to later reports, one suspect in Batam has been identified Mujahin, a principal in a local madrasa, or school that puts an emphasis on Islamic values.

“Yes, he worked as a principal, and the school is located nearby,” a neighbor confirmed.

He was responsible to raise funds in the Riau Islands regions for JI organization in the province. He was arrested by Densus 88 at around 10.00 a.m. local time, and later, authorities searched his residence at 02.00 p.m.

The neighbor said the police secured a number of evidences from the house, including bow and arrow.

“I saw [the police] took laptop, bow and arrow, as well as many books,” the person added.

They added that Mujahin is known in the neighborhood in Kavling Nato Permata as quite a sociable person. He was also part of a volunteer team that worked for a renowned businessperson in Batam.

Mujahin was involved in few of social activities that aimed to help the locals.

“He often distributed aids and assistance from the entrepreneur to the people here. He also used to help us to submit proposals for activities in this neighborhood to that entrepreneur.”