Three South Korean nationals were arrested in Indonesia’s Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International airport on Monday for carrying explosive materials, officials said.
Terminal 2 departure hall at Jakarta International Airport Soekarno-Hatta.
Salahudin Rafi, director of technical operations of airport management company PT Angkasa Pura II, confirmed the arrests, adding that the three individuals – two men and one woman – were on route to Balikpapan, East Kalimantan on a Lion Air flight, Antara news agency reported.
The arrests occurred after a screening officer became suspicious of the passengers’ baggage contents when they passed through the airport’s X-ray screening in its Terminal I-B. Officers went on to check their baggage manually.
Equipment packed in special bags was then discovered in their baggage, including several detonators and different kinds of wires. Six kinds of high explosives were also found. The passengers, however, were not carrying the proper paper work to transport such materials.
The South Koreans were identified as Won Jeon Yeon, 38, Leoeun Kyung, 40, and Khan Jae Soon, 41. They had previously arrived from Incheon aboard a Korean Airlines flight.
Airport security questioned the individuals regarding the equipment. According to reports, Leoeun Kyung stated that the explosive materials were to be used in an explosion simulation at a mining company in East Kalimantan.
