THE STAR
SINGAPORE: The eight Bangladeshi men detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) late last month for plotting terror attacks back home had each been working here for between three and 10 years, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Wednesday.
The men, who called their group Islamic State of Bangladesh (ISB), were not known to be radicalised or involved in terrorism-related activities when they first came to work in Singapore, the ministry added.
But in the few months before they were picked up in late March and April, ISB members met largely at open parks or fields. They also shared large amounts of radical propaganda and videos which deepened the radicalism of members.
The group also had an organisation structure with specific roles of the leader, deputy leader and persons assigned responsibilities for tasks like finance.
The Bangladeshi authorities have been informed of the group and its activities, and have been helpful in providing some information, the ministry said.
MHA made these comments in additional remarks to the media today (May 4), a day after it announced the detentions of the eight - who were planning to stage attacks back home and had a target list, manuals for bombmaking, and had raised funds to buy firearms for attacks back home.
There was no indication that ISB members were also part of the earlier religious study group of 27 Bangladeshi men arrested last year, all of whom have been deported, it added.
Some of them were, however, personally acquainted with a few members of that radical group because they chanced upon one another in Singapore.
The ISB is the first group comprising all foreigners to be detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities in Singapore.
MHA also gave details of the group leader, Rahman Mizanur, 31.
Rahman was working as a draftsman in a local construction firm at the point of his arrest.
He had been working on-and-off in Singapore since 2007, and at the time he last came to Singapore in December 2015, the authorities had no information to suggest that he had radicalised views.
Investigations found that Rahman's radicalisation began around 2013, when he read radical material online. He became more radicalised after a Bangladeshi shared ISIS propaganda material with him when he was in Bangladesh in 2015.
MHA had said on Tuesday that Rahman began recruiting his fellow countrymen in January this year, and formed the group in March.
Today, it confirmed that the eight Bangladeshi nationals in detention were arrested between late March and early April. They were then issued with two-year Orders of Detention in late April.
The members generally lived in different accommodation, and were all employed in the local construction and marine industries, but there was no significant concentration in any particular company.
All eight are still under investigation for their activities in Singapore, the ministy said.
It added that at the time of the arrests, the funds raised were from members' own contributions, and they are not known to have acted on their plans to procure firearms yet.
"Several of them are liable to be prosecuted for terrorism financing. Investigations are still ongoing and we are not able to comment further on this matter," the ministry added.
MHA also identified the five other Bangladeshi nationals who were picked up in connection with the case, and said they were not involved in ISB but possessed or proliferated jihadi-related materials, or supported the use of armed violence in pursuit of a religious cause.
They are: Evan Galib Hassan Chowdhury, Rana Masud, Pailot Md Rana Miea, Islam Tanjemul and Alomgir Md.
MHA also said that following the arrest of the 27 Bangladeshi nationals last year, it has worked with the Ministry of Manpower and an advisory was sent to dormitory operators for them to engage the foreign workers living in their quarters.
"Efforts to reach out to and engage the foreign worker population in Singapore are on-going," it added.
"The uncovering of the ISB group in Singapore sends a strong signal that we cannot take our security for granted or be complacent. As part of ongoing heightened vigilance against the terrorism threat, Singapore has enhanced our law enforcement agencies' capabilities to prevent, detect and respond to terrorist attacks," MHA said.
"The Government also works closely together with foreign security services to share intelligence on terrorism activities, and with various religious and community groups to counter extremist ideology and protect our community from radical influences," it added.
With the latest case, there are currently 23 persons detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
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