Malaysian Police have detained more than 400 people, including a 32-year-old Pakistani, with alleged terrorist links during a crackdown on foreigners in the run-up to the Southeast Asian Games, which start next week.
“Those held in a series of raids in the capital Kuala Lumpur were mainly from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan,” the BBC reported on Tuesday.
Local reports suggest that during the raid fake passport making machines and other documents were also seized.“We will detect and take action against foreigners suspected of having links with terrorist organisation, especially those involved in activities in Syria,” a police official told Free Malaysia Today.
The massive operation included “the use of radiation detection devices, which were taken on loan from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency specifically for the SEA Games,” said the Singapore-based Straits Times.
The paper also says that a 32-year-old Pakistani man was arrested with 62 fake passports of various countries and a machine used to forge Immigration department stickers.
Police are conducting integrated operations to flush out foreigners suspected of having links with terrorist groups before the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games begins.
Federal Police (Bukit Aman) Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division principal assistant director Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said the operations around the Klang Valley were being carried out to ensure the sporting event proceeded smoothly.
“We will detect and take action against foreigners suspected of having links with terrorists, especially those involved in activities in Syria,” he told reporters here last night.
According to him, the operation had the cooperation of the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB), which loaned equipment to detect radioactive elements.Earlier, Ayob Khan headed a six-hour operation starting at noon around Jalan Masjid India, a popular spot for foreigners in the federal capital.
Following the operation, 275 individuals from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Myanmar, Oman, Yemen, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and locals were hauled up and brought to Bukit Aman headquarters for further investigations.
They included screening based on Interpol’s terrorist database.
Ayob Khan said the operation also busted a document forging syndicate involving a Pakistani national at a condominium in Jalan Masjid India.
He said police also seized RM40,000, 62 passports of various countries and a machine to forge Immigration Department stickers.
About 200 officers and personnel from various police units such the General Operations Force, Special Action Unit, Forensic Unit as well as the Immigration Department and the National Registration Department took part in the operation.
