Counter-terrorists win – five suspects nabbed in raid
KUALA LUMPUR: Five men, three of them Pakistani nationals, were detained under the Security Offences Act (Special Measures) 2012 (Sosma) following the third phase of a massive joint operation led by Bukit Aman’s Counter Terrorism Division at the Nilai 3 commercial centre.
The operation, at various spots in the Klang Valley, were being carried out in the run-up to the SEA Games, set to begin on Saturday.
It is learnt that the Pakistani nationals, alongwith two Malaysians, were detained after authorities seized a machete and several foreign passports from them.
“We are investigating all angles, including the possibility that they were involved in a passport forgery syndicate,” Deputy Comm Datuk Ayob Khan said.
“Fifty-seven of them were detained for offences under the Immigration Act.
“Another five, Malaysians, were detained as we believe they got their MyKads illegally.”
The authorities raided 742 premises in Nilai 3, with security personnel equipped with radioactive material detectors stationed at the small town on Sunday.
The three-hour operation saw 429 people rounded up and taken to Sepang for screening using the Interpol Foreign Terrorist Fighters list, Counter Terrorist list and Special Branch Lookup list, along with databases of the Immigration Department, National Registration Department and Education Malaysia Global Services.
DCP Ayob said Nilai 3 was chosen after the division obtained intelligence that Islamic State (IS) militants from Pakistan and Afghanistan had moved their hideout there from Jalan Masjid India.
“We received information that militants from these countries had links with an IS faction in Khorasan, on the Pakistani-Afghan border,” he said.
IS put up a stronghold in Khorasan about two years ago and declared the “expansion” of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s “caliphate” in 2015.
The operation also included the Special Action Unit, General Operations Force, Atomic Energy Licensing Board, Immigration Department, National Registration Department and Interpol.