Female student among 6 people detained for suspected Daesh involvement

KUALA LUMPUR - A female medical laboratory student was among six Malaysians detained for alleged involvement with the Daesh militant group in police operations conducted in five states recently.

The six suspects, aged between 26 and 41, comprising four men and two women, were arrested in Kelantan, Selangor, Melaka, Johor and Penang in operations conducted from last March 24 until April 25.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, in a statement today, said the female student of a public college in the Klang Valley, aged 26, was arrested last April 4 at the KL International Airport in Sepang, Selangor.

"On Feb 5, 2017, the suspect was arrested by the Turkish authority while waiting for instruction from Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi to enter Syria," he said.

He said the woman left for Turkey on Aug 29, 2016 to join the Daesh militant group.

Khalid said the arrest in Kelantan was made on March 24 and 25 involving two men, aged 26 and 41, in connection with the alleged smuggling of firearms from south Thailand for members of the Daesh militant group in Malaysia.

He said on April 20, a 41-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman were arrested in Melaka and Johor, respectively.

"The man is an unemployed and used to be involved with the Daesh militant group in Syria, while the woman, who is an assistant engineer at a factory, is believed to be promoting the terrorist group through the Google Plus application," he said.

Another suspect, a 41-year-old unemployed man, was arrested in Penang on April 25 for allegedly promoting the Daesh militant group through 15 Facebook accounts belonging to him since 2014, and also for allegedly planning to launch an attack at a syiah mosque in Penang.

All of them were detained under the Security Offences (Special measures) Act 2012.

Khalid said police were now looking for a 27-year-old man for alleged involvement in smuggling of firearms from south Thailand.

The man, whose last known address is Kampung Gertak, Rantau Panjang, Kelantan , is believed to be members of the same cell as the two suspects who were detained in Kelantan on March 24 and 25, he said.

Those with information on the suspect are advised to contact Insp Mohd Badri Othman at telephone number 011-26924829.

- Bernama