Some more hiding in Sabah – CP
KOTA KINABALU: Police intelligence believe there is still a number of individual suspects hiding in the state following the recent arrest of seven Filipinos in Sabah and a Malaysian in Putrajaya on suspicion of involvement in terrorism.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah said every effort was being made by Bukit Aman to identify and arrest them.
“Information shows that a number of individuals is still hiding in the state and we are doing all we can to identify and arrest them,” he said when met at a community policing event at Kampung Tanjung Aru Baru, Tanjung Aru here yesterday.
Omar was asked to comment on the recent arrest of eight suspected terrorists, including a Malaysian, in raids conducted by Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division in Putrajaya and Sabah between Oct 30 and Nov 12.
He however declined to comment on the number of suspects still hiding in the country as it could jeopardize investigations.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun on Friday disclosed that Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division arrested seven Filipinos in Sabah and a Malaysian in Putrajaya on suspicion of involvement in terrorism.
Those arrested also included a Filipino who had beheaded captives of the Abu Sayyaf Group.
The first arrest involved a Malaysian, a 38-year-old agent selling gold bullion and involved in channelling funds to Akel Zainal (a Malaysian who had joined the Daesh terrorists in Syria) in 2017 to finance terrorist activities, in Putrajaya on Oct 30.
The second raid, on Nov 1 in Tenom, Sabah, resulted in the arrest of three Filipino suspects aged 27, 34 and 51 who worked as labourers.
They are said to be members of the Abu Sayyaf Group involved in kidnap-for-ransom in the southern Philippines and Sabah.
Mohamad Fuzi had also said that the 34-year-old suspect had the skills to produce firearms for the group’s use.
On Nov 8, two more Filipinos, a labourer and a technician, aged 35 and 46, were arrested in Ranau, Sabah.
The 35-year-old suspect, who was involved in beheading captives of the group, had also recruited children into the Abu Sayyaf Group and used them as human shields during the battles with the Philippine military in Basilan, southern Philippines.
The fourth raid, on Nov 10 in Kinarut, Sabah, resulted in the arrest of a 30-year-old Filipino blacksmith who is an Abu Sayyaf Group commander and righthand man of Furuji Indama, a senior leader of the group, while the fifth and final operation netted a 60-year-old Filipino ‘pasar malam’ (night market) trader in Tenom, Sabah, on Nov 12.
Meanwhile, Omar assured the public not to panic following the arrests as the police believed the suspects were hiding in the state to evade arrest by police.