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Southeast Asia
Top masterminded Indonesian robberies
2005-12-30
Elusive Malaysian terror suspect Noordin Mohammad Top was behind a fatal jewelry store heist in Yogyakarta province earlier this month, police said Friday.

The armed gang which raided the shop in the tourist town of Yogyakarta, killing the store owner and his assistant before fleeing with nearly five kilograms of jewelry, was recruited by Noordin, a senior officer said.

"Based on police investigations, there are indications that the gold store robbery in Yogyakarta was carried out by Noordin M. Top's group," said Indonesia's top detective, Comr. Gen. Makbul Padmanegara.

Makbul said bullet casings found at the robbery matched those found after a shootout between police and Noordin's top accomplice, Azahari Husin, in his East Java hideaway last month.

But he refused to say whether the robbery was motivated by the militants' attempt to fund themselves for future attacks in Indonesia.

Azahari died in the shootout but Noordin remains at large after he managed to escape during a separate raid in Central Java last month.

Indonesia's intelligence chief Syamsir Siregar on Wednesday warned that Azahari's death could trigger revenge attacks and kidnappings for ransom.

Before his death, Azahari and Noordin had recruited an unspecified number of trained militants who were "capable of carrying out their jobs without being ordered by the two" Siregar said.

He also warned the extremists could turn to kidnapping for ransom to fund their activities.

Documents found in Azahari's East Java hideaway also indicated that extremists were planning attacks over the holiday period.
Posted by:Dan Darling

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