http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/indonesian-terror-cells-turn-to-drug-trade/story-e6frg6nf-1225994511410
Indonesian terror cells turn to drug trade Mark Schliebs From: The Australian January 26, 2011 12:00AM Indonesian jihadis have formed terror cells using drug trafficking and armed robberies to fund training and weapons purchases. With heavy policing drying up overseas funding and Jemaah Islamiah shattered, leading Indonesian criminologist Adrianus Meliala told The Australian yesterday that terrorist cells were turning to traditional organised crime to fund their activities. "They are lacking people, as well as ammunition, weapons and money," Professor Meliala from the University of Indonesia said. "Due to a series of bank robberies conducted in Medan, North Sumatra and in West Sumatra, we believed -- and now it has been disclosed -- that the group of people who conducted the armed robberies are actually the remnants of the JI people who are desperately looking for money. "They are also making arrangements with drug traffickers . . . so the drug money becomes the way to buy weapons." Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. He also said that many Indonesian veterans of the Afghan guerilla war against the Soviet Union had never been located in Indonesia, raising the possibility that their expertise was being utilised by new groups. "I'm very much worried about that first batch -- even with members who are still alive, we don't know their whereabouts." Clive Williams, head of terrorism studies at the Australian National University in Canberra, said the new groups were mindful of religious considerations when selecting businesses to rob. "I understand that often the robberies are directed against Chinese traders because they seem wealthy and not Muslim," Professor Williams said. "They run gold shops and that sort of thing, so they may be more vulnerable. "If you're a Muslim, then stealing from another Muslim is not regarded as being very acceptable." But he said it was unlikely that the jihadi groups were heavily involved in drugs as it would be seen as going against their religion. "Supposedly, in Islam, there is prohibition about being involved in narcotics trafficking unless it's trafficking it to infidels. "I think in Indonesia there's less likelihood of them being able to market it to non-Muslims there." The UN Office of Drugs and Crime last year identified an Indonesian separatist movement as possibly having involvement in the drug trade. "Cannabis has been suggested as a source of funding for rebel movements in Aceh," UNODC's World Drug Report said. The former "spiritual leader" of Jemaah Islamiah, Abu Bakar Bashir, was arrested last year for allegedly founding a terrorist cell in Aceh. Bashir, a suspect in the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, is facing a death sentence. The arrest of Bashir, along with hundreds of suspects, and the convictions and deaths of several other jihadis, is seen as proof that Jemaah Islamiah has been dismantled. But Professor Williams warned that smaller jihadi groups that operated as criminal enterprises remained a danger. "If you think back to the Mumbai bombings back in 93, that was a Muslim organised crime gang involved in that," he said. "There's the potential for them to mount attacks -- probably not vehicle bombs because that's more difficult to do, but suicide-bombing attacks." Related Coverage a.. Malaysian unis a terror haven The Australian, 27 Dec 2010 b.. Cleric's eye surgery before terror trial The Australian, 20 Dec 2010 c.. Indonesia arrests terror suspects Herald Sun, 14 Dec 2010 d.. Net closes on the smiling jihadi The Australian, 14 Dec 2010 e.. Terror suspect caught in Java The Australian, 10 Dec 2010 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
