[UPDATED] IGP: IS-inspired group used WhatsApp, Telegram for recruitment, spread propaganda

New Straits Times

a day ago

KUALA LUMPUR: The recently crippled Bangladeshi radical militant movement based on Islamic State (IS) extremist beliefs and violent ideology used social media and messaging applications to spread their ideology, recruit new members and collect funds.
Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail said the group focused their efforts on recruiting Bangladeshis who worked in factories, petrol stations and construction sites.
"They used social media as their medium to spread radical and extremist ideology and to attract more members.
"They also widely used WhatsApp and Telegram to spread propaganda and organise secret activities, including oath-taking ceremonies and religious studies," he told a press conference at Bukit Aman.
He said that the group only recruited their countrymen from the working community.
"Members who swore the oath online would be made leaders of new cells established in certain areas to expand their influence," he said.
Khalid added that further investigations were ongoing with 15 members still detained to obtain more information on their activities.
"We are working together with our neighbouring counterparts as well as the authorities in Bangladesh.
"We are also working on obtaining further information from Interpol, and we will expand our probe to ensure that their network links are identified," he said.
It was reported that police detained 36 Bangladeshi nationals recently.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail was quoted as saying the planned security operation, which began on April 24, was carried out in three phases in Selangor and Johor.
Of those detained, five individuals have been charged under Section 4A of the Offences Relating to Terrorism (Chapter VIA) of the Penal Code in the Shah Alam and Johor Baru Sessions Courts.
Another 15 people have been issued deportation orders, while 16 others are under investigation for involvement in the militant movement.
Intelligence gathered by the Special Branch revealed that the group had introduced IS-inspired ideology into the country and had formed recruitment cells within their community.
Saifuddin said that Malaysia would not serve as a haven or staging ground for any foreign extremist movement.