KUALA LUMPUR: An Israeli man with weapons and bullets has been arrested at a hotel here, with police investigating the possibility that he may be an intelligence agent.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said security in the country will be heightened following the arrest.
He said the suspect told police during the course of interrogation that he came to Malaysia to assassinate a fellow Israeli over a family dispute but police are not taking any chances.
“With the situation in Palestine and Israel we need to be cautious about the security of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as well as other dignitaries,” he told reporters at Masjid Al-Amin at the General Operations Force Central Brigade headquarters yesterday.
He said the 36-year-old man was arrested on March 27 by a team from Bukit Aman and Kuala Lumpur CID at a hotel in Jalan Ampang.
“Based on our checks, the man entered using a French passport. Upon further investigation, the suspect handed over an Israeli passport.
“The suspect claims that he entered the country to hunt down and kill a fellow Israeli over a family dispute,” Razarudin said, adding that police seized six pistols and 200 bullets.
He said the guns, which included a Sig Sauer, two Glocks and a Smith & Wesson, were found in bags belonging to the suspect in the hotel room he was staying.
“Three of the guns were loaded with bullets when they were found.
“Our investigations revealed the suspect had stayed in several hotels before he was caught,” he said, adding that the suspect entered Malaysia on March 12 via a flight from the United Arab Emirates.
He said investigations also revealed that the suspect paid for the guns using cryptocurrency.
“We are now looking at how the guns were smuggled into the country and who received payment for it.
“We are not taking his word for it and are not ruling out the possibility of him having another agenda,” Razarudin said, adding that police investigations are focused on the possibility that the suspect is an Israeli intelligence agent.
He said police believe the suspect was not acting on his own and there were several contacts the suspect was working with who must be identified.
