Nabbed trio seemed like ordinary folk

KUALA LUMPUR: A housewife, a teenager and a restaurant owner – they all seemed like ordinary folk until they were among the 15 picked up by the police for planning Islamic State (IS) militant-style attacks.

The 51-year-old housewife had planned to ram into voters on polling day with her car crammed with gas canisters and explosives while the teenager, a secondary school student, tested molotov cocktails near his house.

The 41-year-old Bangladeshi owner of a restaurant in Bukit Bintang is a gunrunner for terrorist groups, and was on Interpol’s Red Notice before his arrest on April 2.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the other 12 suspects – four Malaysians, two Filipinos with permanent resident status, a couple from a North African country and four other Filipinos – were detained in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor, Kelantan and Sabah between March 27 and April 26.

The housewife, he said, was detained on the morning of polling day before she could carry out her plan.

“She had also planned to fill her car with gas canisters and explosives and ram it into non-Muslim houses of worship,” he said.

Mohamad Fuzi said the 17-year-old boy, who was arrested on April 20, had intended to attack entertainment outlets and non-Muslim houses of worship in the city with molotov cocktails.

“He has also uploaded a video stating his intention. He was detained in Damansara Damai an hour after the video was uploaded,” he said, adding that the boy was believed to have even made a recce of the attack locations.

The Star highlighted the video last month.

Intelligence sources said the housewife was actively involved in IS-affiliated WhatsApp groups since 2014 and had even openly called for militants to launch attacks in the country.

“She has also encouraged group members to head to Syria to fight alongside IS fighters,” they said.

The boy, said the sources, had tested various molotov cocktails at a clearing near his home to get the right combination.

“The video and his subsequent plans were ways for him to prove to the IS hierarchy that he was worthy of joining them,” they said.

The swoop by the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division had begun with the arrest of a 33-year-old man who went to Turkey on Jan 31 to sneak into Syria but was detained and deported on March 27.

The couple, arrested in Gombak on April 2, had been blacklisted by their country and put on the wanted list for their involvement with IS.

“They managed to enter Malaysia on March 16 and were planning to go to a third country,” said Mohamad Fuzi, adding that they were deported on April 14.

Two men – Nor Farkhan Mohd Isa, arrested in Johor on April 20, and Muhamad Faizal Muhamad Hanafi, detained in Pasir Mas on April 23, – were wanted for planning to attack non-Muslim houses of worship and kidnap policemen.

The Filipinos, he said, were detained in Sabah on April 24 and 26 along with a Malaysian – all aged between 22 and 49 – for planning to stockpile weapons for use in Marawi City, the Philippines.