KUALA LUMPUR: Eran Haya, the supposed assassination target of an Israeli man recently nabbed in Malaysia with six guns and 200 rounds of ammunition, is in police custody.
Sources told the New Sunday Times that Haya, 40, was among those detained by police in operations here and Johor on April 4 and 5.
It is understood that Haya, who is Turkish and American, also holds a Polish passport, which he used to enter Malaysia in February.
According to sources, an embassy had engaged the police to locate and secure Haya following claims that he was the target of an assassination attempt.
Haya was supposedly the target of Israeli Shalom Avitan, 36, who entered Malaysia using a French passport last month.
Avitan was arrested at his Jalan Ampang hotel room on March 27, where police found six handguns and 200 rounds of ammunition, which he claimed he had bought in Malaysia.
During interrogation, Avitan said he was in Malaysia to kill a fellow citizen over allegedly a family issue.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain yesterday said eight people, three of them foreigners, had been detained to facilitate investigations into the case.
The three foreigners, said Razarudin, were two Turkish nationals and a Georgian man, aged between 29 and 60.
He said two Malaysian men arrested in Johor were believed to have played a role in obtaining firearms for Avitan.
"One of the detained Turkish nationals possessed a Polish passport and an American passport.
"The arrests were as a result of investigations conducted by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department on cryptocurrency payments used to purchase firearms," he was quoted as saying.
One of the Turkish nationals is believed to be Haya.
The NST reached out to Raza-rudin for confirmation. Razaru-din, in a brief reply, said it was being investigated.
The eight people detained had brought total arrests in the case to 16.
It was reported that Avitan, 36, had used a French passport to enter Malaysia.
Following his arrest, police detained a couple believed to have supplied the weapons.
Among the weapons Avitan had on him when he was arrested were a Glock 19 Marine, Glock 17 Gen 4, Smith and Wesson, Sig Sauer and Stoeger.
Police, however, had questioned his claim that he was in Malaysia to kill a fellow Israeli.
Razarudin had said police were not dismissing the possibility that Avitan was in Malaysia to kill Hamas operatives.
In a recent press conference, Razarudin expressed doubt over the claim, and police had been unable to positively identify Haya.
"We are still determining if he's real. Police need to investigate further," he said in response to a Times of Israel report.
The Times of Israel, quoting Hebrew news reports, claimed that Avitan was associated with a criminal group known as the Musli Brothers.
Israeli news portal Mako had claimed that he was in Malaysia on a mission to kill Haya, the head of the rival criminal group as both syndicates had been involved in violent disputes for months.
Israeli television channel Channel 12 reported that Aitan's house, in Bavli, Tel Aviv, was targeted with hand grenades thrown by Haya's associates.
The incident was allegedly reported in mid-March, believed to be before Haya allegedly entered Malaysia.