Abu Tholut, captured during an anti-terror raid on a home in Central Java, allegedly helped set up a militant training camp in westernmost Aceh province that was uncovered by police early this year. A militant turncoat told The Associated Press after the arrest that Tholut was one of the country's most dangerous terror leaders.
Police officials, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because they did not have authority to talk to the media, said the suspect helped recruit members and raise money for Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid terror cell.
Central Java police chief Maj. Gen. Edward Aritonang would only say that the militant, captured without a fight, played an "important role in the terror movement."
Indonesia has battled extremists since 2002, when members of the Al-Qaeda-linked network Jemaah Islamiah bombed two nightclubs on Bali island, killing 202 people, most of them foreign tourists.
Members of a violent offshoot of Jemaah Islamiah have continued to carry out near-annual strikes on embassies, beach-side restaurants and glitzy hotels since then, killing more than 60.
Tholut, also known as Mustofa, became one of the country's most wanted fugitives after master bombmakers Noordin M. Top and Dulmatin were gunned down earlier this year in police raids.
Tholut was convicted of involvement in a 2001 bomb blast at a shopping plaza in central Jakarta that left six injured, but released five years later for good behavior.
