Neighbors Shocked After Densus 88 Detained 3 Suspects in Sampit

TheIndonesia.id - Neighbors of three terrorist suspects detained by the counterterrorism unit were left shocked by the arrest as nothing appeared to be ‘suspicious’.

As reported by Antara, residents in Jalan Pemuda, Sampit, Central Kalimantan said the terrorism-related arrest was shocking because the people they lived next to didn’t appear to be suspicious and never seemed to be involved in suspicious groups.

Residents added that suspects were also known in the community to be sociable.

“We were shocked when we learned about this because there hasn’t been any suspicious activities. Besides, they were always friendly with other residents, and their diner was always packed with customers,” Anwar, who owns and runs a photocopy shop in Jalan Pemuda, said on Thursday, December 23.

His shop are located next to the diner which was searched by the National Police’s counterterrorism unit Detachment 88 (Densus 88) because it was suspected to be the residence of suspects A, MS, and RT FZ.

Anwar said the diner first opened a year ago, and four people lived in the place: a couple and two other men – one of them was known to be wheelchair-bound. He said he didn’t know all the four people well, but they always greeted him when bumping into each other. Some of the four people were also often seen praying in Masjid Noor Agung, which is located across the road.

According to Anwar, he wasn’t at his shop at the time of the arrest, and his employee immediately went inside the shop when police cars arrived and personnel started searching the diner.

“When I came back, there were two cars, but they left soon after. I wasn’t aware that it was a search because no resident was nearby to witness the event,” he explained.

Another resident Rahmat said similar thing. As a frequent customer of the diner, he never had any suspicion related to any terrorism activity.

“There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but when they served customers, they didn’t talk much. But for me, it wasn’t strange, and that’s why I was shocked to hear this,” he said.

Previously, Densus 88 apprehended three terrorist suspects in Central Kalimantan province. Central Kalimantan Provincial Police, Senior Commissioner Kismanto Eko Saputro said on Wednesday that during the search, Densus 88 seized several pieces of evidence from the suspected terrorists, who are believed to be affiliated to the Islamic State. The evidence included locally assembled firearms, sharp weapons, military training uniforms, ideology books, and other terrorism-related materials.

“Based on the result of an investigation, the three suspects were allegedly involved in a plan to launch a terror attack in this province at the end of 2021,” Saputro confirmed.