The man, arrested with a bag containing six handguns and 200 bullets, had arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport from the United Arab Emirates on March 12 using what authorities believed to be a fake French passport, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain told a press conference late on Friday, Reuters reported.
The suspect turned over an Israeli passport upon questioning by police, Razarudin said, adding that the man, who has not been publicly identified, had ordered the weapons after arriving in Malaysia and paid for them with cryptocurrency.
Police did not rule out the possibility that the man could be a member of Mossad, though the suspect told authorities he had entered Malaysia to hunt down another Israeli citizen due to a family dispute.
“We do not fully trust this narrative as we suspect there may be another agenda,” Razarudin said, adding that the man had stayed at several hotels while in Malaysia.
Three Malaysians, including a married couple, were arrested on Friday and have been remanded for seven days on suspicion of supplying weapons and acting as a driver to the Israeli suspect, Razarudin told Reuters on Saturday.
A pistol was retrieved from a car belonging to the couple, he said.
Malaysia, a majority-Muslim country, is a staunch supporter of the Palestinians and has criticised Israel’s actions in the Gaza war. Malaysia is home to around 600 Palestinian refugees, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
SD/PR
