Former NSTP Trainer Suspected Of Planning New Route To Syria

PETALING JAYA (Selangor, Malaysia), Dec 19 (Bernama) -- A former National Service Training Programme (NSTP) trainer who was arrested Wednesday, is suspected to have planned a new route for recruits in the country to join the Islamic State militant group (IS). National Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar (third, left) said the 30-year-old man from Terengganu was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He said the suspect was influenced into joining the militant group in Syria following Facebook interactions with several other Malaysians who had been arrested. "The police believe the suspect was planning a new route for our citizens to enter Syria, by making Brunei its transit hub. "The suspect had also planned to marry a Malaysian woman working as a teacher in Brunei, before departing to Syria," he said in a statement here, Thursday. Khalid said the suspect had also been in prior contact with Md Lotfi Ariffin, a Malaysian who died in Syria on September 14, for guidance on how to enter Syria via Turkey. With the latest arrest, the police have detained 49 local individuals who had tried to join or assist the IS. When met by reporters at the 2014 Balai League Table awards ceremony, Khalid said a thorough investigation would be done on all former (NSTP) trainers to find out if the suspect had influenced any of them. (photoBernama) -- BERNAMA