15 HELD OVER TERROR LINKS
Those arrested include 6 Filipinos, a Bangladeshi and 2 North Africans
FIFTEEN suspects believed to be involved in terror-linked activities have been detained between March 27 and May 9. The suspects were detained by the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division in operations in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor, Kelantan and Sabah.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the arrests comprised six Malaysians, six Filipinos, including two with Malaysian permanent resident status, a Bangladeshi, as well as a husband and wife from a North African nation, all aged between 17 and 51.
“We also detained a secondary school student, believed to be a member of Islamic State, who was planning to conduct a lone wolf attack by with molotov cocktails on churches, entertainment centres and Hindu temples in Kuala Lumpur.
“We also detained a woman who planned to attack non-Muslim voters with a car during the 14th General Election,” he said here yesterday.
He said the first arrest on March 27 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport involving a local deported from Turkey.
“The suspect left for Turkey on Jan 31 before being arrested by the country’s authorities for allegedly trying to enter Syria to join IS.
“The second and third suspect arrested on April 2 in Gombak, Selangor, is a North African couple, aged 22 and 25, who was blacklisted by their nation’s authorities for being IS members.
“They were transiting in Malaysia on March 16, and were heading to a third country. Both suspects were sent back to their home country on April 14.”
He said the third arrest was made on April 2 in Kuala Lumpur involving a 41year-old Bangladeshi who owns a restaurant in Bukit Bintang.
He was suspected of being involved in firearms smuggling for use by international terrorists and had been listed under Interpol’s red notice.
“On April 20, we arrested a local 17-yearold secondary school student in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, after he produced six molotov cocktails and tested one in an open space in Damansara Damai, Petaling Jaya.
“The suspect was planning to use the molotov cocktail to attack churches, entertainment centres and Hindu temples in Kuala Lumpur. He was already conducting ‘recce’ (gathering information) and recording target locations and had recorded a warning video to launch the attack.
“He uploaded the video to three WhatsApp and Telegram groups. He was arrested an hour after that.”
Fuzi said the next arrest involved two of four suspects who planned to attack a house of worship and kill police officers.
One suspect, Nor Farkhan Mohd Isa, who was finalising his escape to a neighbouring country, was detained on April 20 in Johor Baru. Another suspect, Muhamad Faizal Muhamad Hanafi, was arrested when he surrendered at the Meranti police station in Pasir Mas, Kelantan, on April 23. Two other suspects are at large.
“In Sabah, seven suspects — a local, two Filipinos with permanent resident status and four Filipino nationals, aged between 22 and 49 — were arrested on April 24 and 26 for planning to collect firearms in the state for the purpose of jihad in Marawi City, Philippines.
“The last arrest, on May 9 in Puchong, Selangor, involved a 51-year-old housewife who was planning a car attack on nonMuslim voters during GE14.”