International Desk:
Bangladeshis recently arrested on charges of terrorism were raising funds for Islamic State (IS) branches in Syria and Bangladesh, Malaysian Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Khalid Ismail said.
The IGP told reporters in Bukit Aman on Friday that intelligence gathering and investigation by the Special Branch’s Counter Terrorism Division (E8) has shown that the group has raised funds for IS activities in Bangladesh and Syria.
“We are still investigating the total amount of funds collected by the group. We believe they raised funds through membership fees and donations from members,” he said.
The group, known as ‘Gerakan Militan Radical Bangladesh (GMRB),’ used to spread its ideology and recruit members through social media and messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram, the IGP said.
Police chief Khalid Ismail said, “We believe there are 100 to 150 members in their WhatsApp group. Initial investigations have revealed that each member has to pay an annual membership fee of RM500 (Malaysian ringgit). However, the amount of donation is at the discretion of the members.”
When asked by reporters whether the terrorist group has any links with IS branches in neighboring countries or elsewhere, Mohammad Khalid said that the matter is still under investigation.
He said, “We are working with our counterparts in other countries as well as Interpol to expose their terrorist network.”
He also mentioned that this terrorist group mainly recruited members from among Bangladeshi immigrants living in Malaysia. He said that their members were recruited from Bangladeshi laborers, factory workers and other professions. Each member had to take ‘bayat’ (oath) before being included in the terrorist group.
