Indonesian police on Friday seized 165 pounds of potassium, which is used for fertilizer but can be a component of explosives, in a car near an airport in the country's second-largest city.

Officers were questioning the driver, who was stopped in Surabaya on Java island, a police spokesman said. Sgt. Darman said bomb experts were examining the chemical, but declined to say whether the find was linked to terrorism.

Potassium is widely used as a fertilizer throughout Indonesia. It is also used to make explosives for stunning fish. It is illegal to own the substance, but officers turn a blind eye to farmers using it.

Authorities say potassium was used in the construction of both the bombs that exploded on Oct. 12, 2002, on Bali island that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Darman, who goes by a single name, said officers seized the chemical from a car less than a mile from Surabaya's airport. He gave no more details.

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