The recent arrest of a terrorism suspect in the Bekasi shocked many people. Dananjaya Erbening, the suspect, who works as a railway officer at PT Kereta Api Indonesia, has been revealed to have links to terrorism, particularly as a supporter of ISIS. Police even explained that Dananjaya was planning to carry out a terrorist attack.
In his residence, the police found 18 firearms, including eleven short-barreled guns, five rifles, and various makeshift pen guns. Additionally, the police seized 600 rounds of 5.56-millimeter caliber ammunition and 400 rounds of 9-millimeter caliber ammunition stored in black boxes. An ISIS flag and dozens of books on jihad were also discovered.
His intended targets were the Command Headquarters of the Mobile Brigade of the Indonesian National Police in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java, and one of the headquarters of the Indonesian National Army.
Utilizing social media and QR codes to gather funds
Dananjaya used various social media platforms such as Facebook and Telegram to encourage people, especially sympathizers of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), to make donations.
Using his mobile phone, Dananjaya regularly composed and disseminated chain messages for charitable purposes.
Through this method, he managed to accumulate billions of rupiahs. “These funds were intended for preparing new terror plans,” said the spokesperson for the Indonesian National Police’s Special Detachment 88 Antiterror, Commissioner General Aswin Siregar, on Friday, August 25, 2023.
In addition to social media, Dananjaya also distributed charity boxes in several public facilities to collect donations. He affixed quick response code (QR code) stickers to these boxes for digital wallet donations.
The collected funds were claimed to be managed by a foundation for mosque construction and distributed to the poor and orphaned children.
More than IDR 1 billion were raised
The Head of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, Ivan Yustiavandana, stated that Dananjaya had multiple bank accounts to receive donations.
The money flow into his accounts reached more than IDR 1 billion. All of these funds have now been frozen. Ivan declined to disclose where the money had been channeled all this time. “We only provide data as requested by the investigators,” he said.
Cash in exchange for firearms
The discovery of numerous illegal firearms at Dananjaya’s residence has been a major concern for the police. Some suspect that the charity money Dananjaya received was used to purchase these weapons.
The Director of General Crime Investigation of the Metro Jakarta Regional Police, Commissioner General Hengki Haryadi, stated that Dananjaya bought these firearms from a resident of Tambun Utara, Bekasi, known as R. Some of these firearms were factory-made, while others were airsoft gun modifications. R is also suspected of supplying illegal firearms to the black market.
The investigation into R unveiled another scandal involving several police officers. Hengki explained that R was found to have sold weapons to personnel from the Directorate of General Crime Investigation of the Metro Jakarta Regional Police, Brigadier Chief Reynaldi Prakoso; First Inspector Muhamad Yudi Saputra, Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the North Bekasi Sector Police; and Brigadier Chief Syarif Muksin, a member of the Quick Reaction Unit of the Cirebon City Police Resort in West Java.
