KUALA LUMPUR: Police have not ruled out the possibility that the suspected Israeli spy, detained with firearms and ammo in Kuala Lumpur on Wed, was on a mission to kill Hamas operatives in Malaysia.
They are also investigating the possibility that the suspect has ties to Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.
Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said they were investigating all possibilities in the case.
"Those are within our frame of investigation. We are taking on board all possibilities," he told the New Straits Times today.
Razarudin had previously confirmed that police were working to detect foreign intelligence operatives, including Malaysians hired by Mossad, conducting clandestine operations in Malaysia.
He said this was done since the assassination of Fadi Mohamed al-Batsh, a Palestinian professor and Hamas member, in Kuala Lumpur in 2018, as well as the arrest of a group behind the kidnapping of Palestinians in Malaysia.
The NST had in 2022 reported how Mossad agents had engaged Malaysians to track down and abduct two Palestinian men they believed to be assets of the Hamas al-Qassam Brigade.
In a brazen snatch-and-grab operation in KL, the team intercepted the two Palestinians on Sept 28 when the duo, both computer programming experts, were about to enter a vehicle parked near Jalan Yap Kwan Seng.
They succeeded in abducting one, while the other Palestinian escaped to seek help from security guards at a hotel lobby. He later lodged a police report.
The abducted Palestinian was taken to another location, where he was tied to a chair, bound and blindfolded. He was then put on a video call with two Israelis.
It is learnt the Israelis wanted to know about his experience in computer application development, Hamas' strength in developing software, members of the Al-Qassam Brigade that he knew and their strengths.
It is learnt the interrogation was ongoing when police raided the chalet where the Palestinian was held.
Fourteen people, including a woman, have since been charged with kidnapping.
Meanwhile, Razarudin said police are probing why the suspected Israeli spy had six guns and 200 rounds of ammunition in his possession.
He said this was a key question given that the suspect, upon questioning, claimed that he was in Malaysia to kill a fellow Israeli over a personal dispute.
"For now, the investigation is skewed towards that. At the same time, we haven't dismissed the possibility that the suspect may have other agendas as I had stated before, namely threatening the safety of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the prime minister, as well as other important people.
"These are all the main focuses of our investigation," he told Berita Harian.
The suspect had entered Malaysia on Wednesday via a flight from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using a French passport, which the authorities believe was fake.
He had shifted between hotels before the authorities nabbed him at a hotel in Ampang.
Sources claimed that the hotels he stayed in were five-star residences. The suspect was also believed to have dined in high-end restaurants.
He had stayed in three different hotels before police moved in to arrest him, sources claimed.
During his arrest, police found six guns and 200 bullets in his possession.
The weapons included a Glock 19 Marine, Glock 17 Gen 4, Smith and Wesson, Sig Sauer and Stoeger.
The suspect is being remanded for four days to facilitate a probe under Section 12 of the Passport Act 1966 and Section 7 of the Firearms Act (Increased Penalties) 1971.