JAKARTA (Xinhua): The Indonesian National Police announced Thursday (Nov 25) 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 Organizer (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 US$1.05 million) per year, while the Syam Organizer earns around 14 billion rupiahs (about $0.98 million).
When searching for the Syam Organizer office some time ago, officers confiscated around 944 million rupiahs (about $70,000) in cash.
JI was a South-East Asian militant group behind the bombing incidents in Bali province in 2002, killing more than 200 people on the Indonesian resort island.
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