Jakarta/Semarang – The amount of money obtained by local terror groups, including Azahari's network, is substantial with a staggering US$75,000 channeled to the terror groups in the country in the past few years, BIN has revealed. While one may think that the money would have been sent through modern means such as bank transfer, the top intelligence official here said on Thursday the money had been transported through couriers.
"The money came from individuals in Middle Eastern and Asian countries. The US$75,000 figure was worked out as the result of an investigation held this year," chief of State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Maj. Gen. (ret) Syamsir Siregar told reporters after a closed door meeting with legislators on Thursday here.
Although Syamsir admitted that the flow of money had stopped. the account had raised the alarm that terror activities had extended beyond the country's borders. With the huge amount of money acquired from foreign funding, it does explain how the terrorists groups had possessed enormous capability to perpetrate sophisticated terrorist attacks. The Bali bombing in 2002 which killed over 200 people was an example of the level of sophistication of the devices created by the well financed terror networks.
Syamsir explained the terror groups received funding based on the targets. The financiers would figure out how much money the terror groups should receive per target, and it would be sent through couriers. Each target was treated differently, said Syamsir.
After learning that foreign parties had donated money to terror groups operating in the country, Syamsir said he hoped to deploy intelligence agents at a number of Indonesian embassies abroad. Based on preliminary study, BIN is considering deploying intelligence officers in the Philippines, Thailand and some countries in the Middle East. "But, whether the plan is feasible, we will see how this goes with the foreign ministry," he said.
The foreign terrorist funding came to light after the police raided a house rented by master bombmaker Azahari in the sleepy town of Malang, East Java, which resulted in the death of Azahari, Southeast Asia's most-wanted terrorist. Azahari's death has revealed more about terror funding with National Police chief Gen. Sutanto disclosing recently that funding came from parties in the Middle East. However, the police general said the flow of funds from the Middle East had stopped last year.
Azahari, along with his Malaysian compatriot Noordin M. Top, are accused of masterminding a series of bomb attacks in the country in the past few years.
In a separate development, after a two-week long manhunt, Central Java Police have reportedly arrested Dwi Widyarto, who is charged with being a courier in the Azahari terror network. Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Chaerul Rasyid confirmed the arrest but refused to reveal when and where the suspect was apprehended.
Meanwhile, after a week-long investigation, Jakarta Police announced on Thursday that three people had been named suspects for harboring Azahari and Noordin. The three people were arrested on Nov. 17 in Pekalongan, Central Java province, said Jakarta Police spokesman I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana.