Malaysian police said on Friday that they have arrested 36 Bangladeshi migrant workers suspected of supporting the Islamic State group by promoting its ideology and raising funds through social media.
Police inspector-general Mohd Khalid Ismail said the Bangladesh nationals, who had arrived in Malaysia to work in factories, construction sites and petrol stations, were arrested in coordinated operations since April.
鈥楾he group attempted to recruit members to fight in Syria or for IS,鈥� Khalid said in a televised news conference on Friday.
鈥楾hey raised funds to be sent to Syria, and also to Bangladesh,鈥� he said, adding that collections were transmitted through e-wallets and international funds transfer services.
Once in control of large swathes of Syria and Iraq, IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 largely due to the efforts of Kurdish-led forces supported by an international coalition. It has maintained a presence mainly in the country鈥檚 vast desert.
Of those detained by Malaysian authorities, five suspects were subsequently charged for participating in terrorist organisations, spreading extremist ideologies and raising funds for terrorist activities.
Another 16 are still being probed for their support of the militant movement, while 15 more have been issued deportation orders.
鈥榃e believe they have between 100 to 150 members in their WhatsApp group,鈥� Khalid said, adding investigations were ongoing.
鈥楾hey collected an annual membership fee of about $118 (500 Malaysian ringgit) while further donations were made at their own discretion,鈥� the police chief said.
Asked if the militant group had links to IS cells in other countries, Khalid said the police were still working with 鈥榦ur counterparts in other countries as well as Interpol... to uncover their terror network鈥�.
Malaysia depends significantly on foreign workers to meet labour demands in the nation鈥檚 key manufacturing and agriculture sectors, with tens of thousands of Bangladeshi nationals arriving each year to fill these roles.
