GEORGE TOWN: The four Yemenis nabbed by the Counter-Terrorism Division of the police were planning to attack members of the Saudi royalty during their visit to Kuala Lumpur recently.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the Islamic State (IS) militants were also involved in a syndicate specialising in falsifying travel documents and drug distribution in the country.
“We managed to get them in the nick of time,” he said.
Khalid was speaking to reporters after launching the 34th International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC) – Far East Regional Working Group Meeting at a hotel here yesterday.
It was earlier reported that the Yemeni militants were detained in Cyberjaya on Feb 26.
Sources were quoted as saying the militants, aged between 26 and 33, were arrested days before the visit of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud’s to Malaysia.
One of the militants worked as a cook at a restaurant specialising in Yemeni dishes, another was a student at a private university while the other two were jobless.
It is learnt that the forgery syndicate had been in operation for more than a year. The latest arrests bring the number of militants detained since February 2013 to 278.
The four Yemenis were among seven militants, including a 41-year-old Malaysian factory technician and a 28-year-old Indonesian farmer, detained during raids between Feb 21 and 26.
Sources said the Indonesian militant, who knows how to make bombs, got instructions from notorious Malaysian militant Mohamad Wanndy Mohamad Jedi in Syria.
He was tasked with making car bombs.
It is learnt that the attack plan failed due to the quick action of police and a breakdown in communication between Mohamad Wanndy and the militants.
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