Four Foreigners Among Seven Detained For Alleged Involvement In Terrorists Group

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 (Bernama) -- Seven men, including four foreign nationals, allegedly involved with terrorism activities, were arrested in several locations in the country between Nov 3 and Dec 16. Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said, the men, aged between 20 and 35 years, were arrested during operations by the Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division in Johor, Sabah, Melaka and Selangor. "Foreigners arrested included two students of the Al-Madinah International University in Shah Alam and a factory worker in Johor," he said in a statement here Tuesday. Khalid said the two students were detained with another suspect in Selangor on Nov 3, while the 26-year-old foreign factory worker was arrested in Johor on Dec 8. He said the investigation revealed that one of the students was investigated by foreign authorities for alleged involvement in the Daesh militant group. In September this year, the student was suspected to be involved in attempts to retrieve sensitive information on the security aspects of an International school in the capital while another student was suspected of being his accomplice. "The investigation also found that another suspect was detained in the Middle East in 2010 on suspicion of involvement with terrorist group Al-Qaeda. "The three suspects arrested in Selangor had been deported to their country of origin on Nov 22 and 23," he said. He said the factory worker was arrested on suspicion of planning to smuggle weapons to Poso, Indonesia, and to infiltrate into Myanmar to launch an attack. In addition, Khalid said three local men were arrested including a 24-year-old man who was arrested in Melaka on Nov 26 who was suspected of being a member of Daesh group. According to him, the man was suspected of taking orders from a Malaysian who was a member of Daesh terrorist group in Syria, Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, to launch an attack on entertainment centres around Melaka and Kuala Lumpur. He said the investigation found that the suspect had also been getting training to produce Improvised Explosive Device from a Malaysian who joined the Daesh group in Syria, known as Muhammad Nasrullah Abdul Latif @ Abu Gomes. "The other suspect is a 24-year-old truck driver who was arrested on Dec 16 on suspicion of threatening to launch bomb attacks on entertainment centres in the capital on his Facebook account," he said. He said a furniture factory worker, 35, was arrested in Kota Kinabalu, on Nov 16, who was alleged to have joined a Daesh cell in Sabah. Khalid said all those arrested were suspected to have committed offences under Chapter VIA - terrorism-related offences, the Penal Code (Act 574) and would be investigated in accordance with the procedure under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Act 747). -- BERNAMA