‘ Gagak Hitam’ IS suspects nabbed in six states
> Sixteen men, including a foreigner, detained in nationwide operation
PETALING JAYA: In a nationwide operation, police arrested 15 Malaysians and a foreigner suspected of terror activities.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the suspects, all males, were nabbed in Selangor, Kelantan, Perak, Kedah, Penang and Sabah and are said to be from the Islamic State (IS) terror cell codenamed “Gagak Hitam”.
“They are from the Gagak Hitam cell that is led by militant Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi who is among the three Malaysian firebrands of IS and who is the mastermind behind the grenade attack on the Movida pub in Puchong on June 28,” he said in a press statement.
Khalid said all 16 arrested, aged 20 to 38, were recruited online by Wanndy and have been channeling funds to him.
One of the suspects was a 20year-old student from a public higher learning institution in Johor who had fled the country to join IS in Syria but was thwarted by Turkish authorities on Sept 8 in Istanbul.
“He went to Istanbul on Sept 7 but was detained by Turkish authorities based on information from our Counter Terrorism Division.
“He planned to secure safe passage to Syria via Turkey,” Khalid said.
The suspect was turned over to Malaysian authorities on Sept 22.
“The foreign suspect, who is from a North African country, was alleged to have been a member of the Jahabat Al Nusra group in Syria,” he said.