Bangladeshi restaurant owner held in Malaysia for ‘militant link’

A Bangladeshi restaurant owner was detained in Malaysia for alleged militant link, Sydney based the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Friday.

Some 14 other suspected militants including several foreigners were also detained for ‘smuggling firearms and plotting attacks on places of worship’, the report said quoting Malaysian police officials.  

“Six Malaysians, six Filipinos, a Bangladeshi restaurant owner and a couple from a north African country were detained between March and May,” Malaysian national police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun was quoted as saying in the report.

The Bangladeshi restaurant owner is 41-year-old and police said that they believe he is involved in smuggling weapons for terrorists. His name has not been known.

A 17-year-old Malaysian student was also detained in this connection. Police said that the student made six Molotov cocktails which he planned to use against entertainment outlets, churches and Hindu temples in Kuala Lumpur.  Police chief Mohamad Fuzi said that the student is a suspected Islamic State member and he tested one of his devices in an open area and was detained in April, an hour after he uploaded a video on social media warning of the attacks.

A 51-year-old Malaysian woman was also held on 9 May  during general elections for planning to ram a car into non-Muslims at a voting centre, according to the police chief.

He also said that the suspect also planned to drive into non-Muslim worship places using a car filled with gas cylinders as explosives.

A 33-year-old Malaysian was detained after he was deported by Turkey for trying to slip into Syria to join the Islamic State.

Besides, two other Malaysians were also detained who had planned to kidnap and kill police officers and also attack places of worship.

An African couple was also arrested both in their early 20s and police suspect that they have IS ties. They were detained in April and have been deported.

The police said that another Malaysian and six Filipinos, aged between 22 and 49, were held in April in Sabah state on Borneo island for being part of a militant cell collecting firearms to wage <DBL-QTS>jihad<DBL-QTS> in Marawi city in the Philippines.