JAKARTA – The Indonesian National Police, announced yesterday that, its counter-terrorism squad, dubbed “Densus 88,” had arrested a total of 24 people, related to fundraising for the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group.

“Of the 24 people, 14 are from Baitul Maal Abdurrahman bin Auf (an alms collecting foundation), and 10 are from Syam Organiser (a fund raising foundation),” head of Densus 88’s operation assistance unit, Senior Commissioner, Aswin Siregar, said.

Based on the financial reports of the foundations, Baitul Maal Abdurrahman bin Auf, with tens of thousands of charity boxes spread across Indonesia, collects around 15 billion rupiahs (about 1.05 million U.S. dollars) per year, while the Syam Organiser earns around 14 billion rupiahs (about 0.98 million U.S. dollars).

When searching the Syam Organiser’s office some time ago, officers confiscated around 944 million rupiahs (about 70,000 U.S. dollars) in cash.

JI was a Southeast Asian militant group, behind the bombing incidents in Bali, in 2002, killing more than 200 people, on the Indonesian resort island.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK