Yesterday, Indonesian anti-terror forces shot dead three suspected militants while another was arrested in South Tangerang.
The local media is now reporting that the suspected terrorist who was arrested, identified by the initials ANS, worked as an online ojek motorcycle taxi driver.
“Earlier in the morning he [ANS] was still receiving orders,” Tatang Muridi, a resident of the Rawa Mekar Jaya neighborhood where ANS had rented a house, told Kompas yesterday.
Tatang said ANS rented a house in the neighborhood with three other people. He said locals were not suspicious at all towards the group.
The authorities apprehended ANS at a petrol station on Jalan Raya Serpong on Wednesday morning. From him, the authorities managed to extract information on the location of the three suspected terrorists who were killed in a shootout in the Babakan subdistrict of South Tangerang. ANS’ wife was also arrested at a location near the shootout.
The police also say that the three deceased suspected terrorists were often seen being driven by an online ojek driver.
Ride-hailing companies carry out background checks on potential partner drivers, but this case highlights the very real possibility that people affiliated with terrorists groups can still slip through the cracks.
The South Tangerang incident came less than two weeks after police arrested four Islamic militants, including a female suicide bomber, and a bomb in Bekasi, east of Jakarta.
The group in South Tangerang is linked to the Bekasi group, National Police Spokesman Rikwanto said.
Reader Interactions