KUALA LUMPUR: Police arrested eight men suspected of involvement in terror activities during series of operations between Sept 27 and Oct 6.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the eight – comprising four Malaysians, two Filipinos, a Filipino with permanent resident status and an Albanian – were arrested in operations in Sabah, Selangor and Perak.
“The first (operation) under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) saw five men arrested in Sandakan. Those detained are suspected of involvement in bringing Abu Sayyaf terror elements into Malaysia through Sabah,” he said in a statement.
Fuzi said the arrests were made following the nabbing of seven Abu Sayyaf members in a series of raids last month.
The second operation on Oct 1, also under Sosma, saw the 35-year-old Albanian – a guest speaker at a public university – being picked up in Selangor for having links to the Islamic State.
Fuzi said police then arrested two former Sosma detainees in Tapah, aged 53 and 37. They were previously detained in Feb 2013 for involvement in militant activities and were sentenced to seven years’ jail in Jan 2016.
The 53-year-old man was previously arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) and sentenced to seven years under the National Security Act.
“He was suspected of recruiting detainees in Tapah prison to join terror groups, and had planned attacks at temples, churches and mosques, to spark conflict between (different religious groups),” Fuzi said.
The man is also suspected of concealing information from authorities regarding members of Al-Qaeda who are on the police’s wanted list.
The other ex-convict is also believed to be a recruiter responsible for enticing two Malaysians to join Al-Qaeda.