The Marina Bay area – Reuters File Photo
SINGAPORE: Indonesian authorities have arrested six terror suspects for allegedly trying to hit Marina Bay with a rocket they had planned to fire from Batam, according to local media reports.
The suspects, aged 19 to 46, were arrested today morning by Special Detachment 88, Indonesia’s elite counter-terrorism squad.
The group is said to have links to Bahrun Naim, the alleged mastermind behind the attacks in central Jakarta earlier this year.
According to an online report by Batam Pos, the suspects were arrested at various locations across Batam, including the Mediterranean Housing Block FF1 Batam Centre, Complex Masyeba, Cluster Sakura Botania, Carina Park Complex, and the Komplek Taman Indah Batuaji.
“It is true that we are holding six people,” a senior police official, Boy Rafli Amar, was quoted saying by Batam Pos.
The report identified the six suspects as Gigih Rahmat Dewa, 31, Trio Syafrido, 46, Eka Saputra, 35, Tarmidzi, Hadi Gusti Yanda, 20, and M Tegar Sucianto, 19.
All of them work at a fabric factory except Trio, who is reportedly a bank executive. An Indonesian TV station identified Gigih as the ring leader.
One of Gigih’s neighbour said he got married four years ago and did not show signs of suspicious behaviour.
“He rarely goes out, in fact, we don’t know anything about them. So far the couple has been good,” the neighbour was quoted saying by Batam Pos.
On January 14, the bomb-and-gun assault at a Jakarta shopping plaza killed eight people, including four attackers, and injured more than 20 others.
Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant, is well-known to security agencies. Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said in March that Bahrun Naim was suspected of encouraging attacks in Singapore.
Indonesian national police chief Badrodin Haiti has also named him as one of the region’s core leaders in the pro-IS network. — TODAY