Police in Malaysia on Friday said an Israeli man with firearms had been arrested in the country. The suspect claimed that he had entered the country to assassinate a fellow countryman, Malay Mail reported.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razaruddin Husain said the arrest of the 36-year-old suspect was made on March 27, two weeks after he entered Malaysia through the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 12.
He added the suspect, who entered as a tourist, was detained at a hotel in Jalan Ampang.
“Interrogation against the suspect revealed that he had entered Malaysia using a French passport and upon further questioning, he produced an Israeli passport. The suspect claims to have entered Malaysia to seek out another countryman to kill, but we are not buying his story,” the Inspector-General told a press conference.
Razaruddin stressed that local authorities are focusing on ensuring the safety of key figures in Malaysia, such as the prime minister and the King, as investigators remain unconvinced by the suspect’s admission.
“The suspect claims to have entered Malaysia to seek out another countryman to kill over a family dispute, but we are not buying his story,” he said.
“What is worrisome here is that the arrest took place [at a time] during the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict, and we are vigilant of the safety of the PM, the King and other VVIPs whose safety we must take into consideration,” he said.
On the seized firearms including ammunition, Razaruddin said they were purchased by the suspect using cryptocurrency and investigations are ongoing to identify the payment's recipient.
Asked if the police were not ruling out the possibility of the suspect's affiliation with Israeli intelligence, Razaruddin said ongoing investigations were leaning towards that aspect.
Malaysia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel. In December, in fact, a Malaysian citizen was arrested after posting a video to social media in which he called for peace with Israel.
Later that month, Malaysia banned Israeli-flagged cargo ships from docking at its ports in response to Israel's actions in Gaza, which it said ignores "basic humanitarian principles".
In 2022,Malaysia said it arrested suspected Mossad agents who tried to kidnap a Palestinian Arab who was acting on behalf of Hamas in Kuala Lumpur.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)