Indonesian Police’s Intelligence and Security Division (Kabaintelkam) Head Comm. Gen. Rycko Amelza Dahniel instructed heads of regional police and the intelligence division to check the security system in warehouses storing combustible material ammonium nitrate.
The order is stipulated in a telegram addressed to regional police chiefs and directors of intelligence and security in the regional police across the country. “The telegram contains a directive and guidance to be implemented and to report on the progress,” Dahniel remarked.
The telegram, signed on August 6, 2020, was issued in response to the blast in Beirut Port, Lebanon, on August 4, caused by an ammonium nitrate explosion. According to the telegram, Indonesia has five producers of explosive material that produce ammonium nitrate and ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) for the domestic and export market.
A total of 36 warehouses store explosives owned by importers and 825 warehouses owned by end-users for mining, oil and gas, and non-mining activities. Rycko has urged regional police chiefs to take preventive measures to guard against misuse of explosive material, sabotage, and negligence.
The police in regions should check the security system at facilities, first safety procedures, processing security system, emergency plan, and physical security by the police and security guards. Regional police should also intensify security in the production and distribution of commercial explosives and conduct routine checks on explosive stocks.
Rycko has ordered the regional police to conduct routine and incidental checks as stipulated in Police Chief Regulation No. 17 of 2017 on the license for security, surveillance, and control of commercial explosive material. The police should also work in coordination with producers, importers, distributors, and end-users to comply with the standard operational procedures pertaining to explosive materials.
