M

embers of the Indonesian Army based in Singkawang, West Kalimantan, seized on Wednesday 900 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, an explosive material, following a raid in a remote village in the area.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rana S. Permana said on Wednesday that members of the Army who launched the operation also arrested a 58-year-old employee of a warehouse where the explosives were kept. The employee was only referred to as AA.

The Bengkayang Police, who later took over the case, are now hunting for the explosives'€™ owner, identified as A, a 38-year-old man from the neighboring regency of Sambas.

'€œWe suspect that A purchased the explosives in Malaysia,'€ Rana said.

Information released by the Bengkayang Police said that A bought the explosives from two men, Y and AN, who reside in Serikin, Serawak, Malaysia. No information was available to confirm whether the two were Malaysian nationals. Serikin is 120 kilometers from Bengkayang.

'€œThere are many narrow roads connecting Bengkayang and Malaysia. Some people maybe use the routes to smuggle things,'€ Rana said.

The police, however, said they did not yet have any evidence to suggest the explosives were to be used for terror attacks.

Rana said it was common among locals to use ammonium nitrate to make bombs for blast fishing.

'€œThe Bengkayang Police are still trying to determine whether the explosives were meant for blast fishing or other purposes,'€ he said.

The explosives were found as the Indonesian Military (TNI) and police step up their security measures along border areas in an effort to tackle transborder terrorism.

Several Indonesian terrorists are known to have networks with radical groups in Southeast Asia.

Fadli Sadama, a high-profile terrorist who escaped from Medan'€™s Tanjung Gusta Penitentiary in July, is believed to have extensive contacts with extremist groups in Malaysia and southern Thailand.

Fadli was sentenced to 11 years'€™ imprisonment for his involvement in the robbery of a CIMB Niaga Bank branch in Medan in August and an attack on the Hamparan Perak police station in Deli Serdang regency in 2010.

National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Ansyaad Mbai noted that Fadli had once smuggled amphetamines from Malaysia to finance his terrorist activities. In July, the radical website, arrahmah.com, reported the visit to Indonesia by two Myanmarese Rohingya militants, identified as cleric Abu Arif and militant commander Abu Shafiyah.