Kuala Lumpur - Mohamad Wanndy Mohamad Jedi is emerging to be the man pulling the strings of several of the Islamic State (IS) militants in Malaysia from his base thousands of miles away in Syria.
A day after a 23-year-old cook was charged in court with transferring and depositing funds into his bank account, Mohamad Wanndy, 26, is known to have influenced several others who were caught in a swoop by local authorities here.
Three of the nine suspected IS militants detained - two of whom were involved in the Movida bombing in Puchong - have been taking orders from him, the latest being to launch another attack against an entertainment outlet in Johor.
Chillingly, one received orders to target Bukit Aman and government complexes in Putrajaya.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the first two were identified as Jasanizam Rosni and Md Saifuddin Muji, who were on the wanted list for conspiring in the Movida bombing.
"They were nabbed in a hilly area in Kuala Krai, Kelantan, on Aug 9. They were detained with the help of General Operations Force's Tiger Platoon Batallion 8," he said in a statement yesterday.
It is learnt that the two had sought shelter in Kampung Sungai Pas, Kuala Krai, which took the authorities about one hour from the main road to reach the hillside.
The men, he added, had been hiding in Kuala Krai since July.
"They were waiting for further orders from Mohamad Wanndy to launch an attack on an entertainment outlet in Johor Baru. We also seized an M67 grenade, which they planned to use in the attack," he said. Sources revealed that the two men had hid the grenade in Rengit, Johor.
The third suspect, who was taking orders from Mohamad Wanndy, was a 26-year-old man nabbed in Johor.
The IGP said he belonged to the same cell as 23 others, who were detained earlier in two separate operations in July.
"He was involved in a plan to attack Bukit Aman and government complexes in Putrajaya.
"We believe he was receiving orders from Mohamad Wanndy," he said.
They were detained along with six others, including three Iraqi militants and a 17-year-old, in Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Sabah and Kelantan between July 20 and Aug 9 by the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division.
The three Iraqis are former soldiers who have been in the country for a few months while the six Malaysians are three VCD sellers, a factory operator, an excavator driver and a jobless man.
"The Iraqis were using Malaysia as a transit point. The three had tried to obtain forged travel documents to launch an attack on a Middle Eastern country," said Khalid.
Two suspects in Batu Pahat and Kuala Krai were detained for harbouring Jasanizam and Md Saifuddin, he added.
Khalid said the teenager held in Sabah had received orders from an IS militant in Syria to launch a lone wolf attack by killing non-Muslims in Sandakan.
Sources said however that the militant who gave the order was a new "player" and he had contacted the teenager via social media.
They also revealed that so far, two grenades had been recovered while eight others had yet to be found.
A day after a 23-year-old cook was charged in court with transferring and depositing funds into his bank account, Mohamad Wanndy, 26, is known to have influenced several others who were caught in a swoop by local authorities here.
Three of the nine suspected IS militants detained - two of whom were involved in the Movida bombing in Puchong - have been taking orders from him, the latest being to launch another attack against an entertainment outlet in Johor.
Chillingly, one received orders to target Bukit Aman and government complexes in Putrajaya.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the first two were identified as Jasanizam Rosni and Md Saifuddin Muji, who were on the wanted list for conspiring in the Movida bombing.
"They were nabbed in a hilly area in Kuala Krai, Kelantan, on Aug 9. They were detained with the help of General Operations Force's Tiger Platoon Batallion 8," he said in a statement yesterday.
It is learnt that the two had sought shelter in Kampung Sungai Pas, Kuala Krai, which took the authorities about one hour from the main road to reach the hillside.
The men, he added, had been hiding in Kuala Krai since July.
"They were waiting for further orders from Mohamad Wanndy to launch an attack on an entertainment outlet in Johor Baru. We also seized an M67 grenade, which they planned to use in the attack," he said. Sources revealed that the two men had hid the grenade in Rengit, Johor.
The third suspect, who was taking orders from Mohamad Wanndy, was a 26-year-old man nabbed in Johor.
The IGP said he belonged to the same cell as 23 others, who were detained earlier in two separate operations in July.
"He was involved in a plan to attack Bukit Aman and government complexes in Putrajaya.
"We believe he was receiving orders from Mohamad Wanndy," he said.
They were detained along with six others, including three Iraqi militants and a 17-year-old, in Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Sabah and Kelantan between July 20 and Aug 9 by the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division.
The three Iraqis are former soldiers who have been in the country for a few months while the six Malaysians are three VCD sellers, a factory operator, an excavator driver and a jobless man.
"The Iraqis were using Malaysia as a transit point. The three had tried to obtain forged travel documents to launch an attack on a Middle Eastern country," said Khalid.
Two suspects in Batu Pahat and Kuala Krai were detained for harbouring Jasanizam and Md Saifuddin, he added.
Khalid said the teenager held in Sabah had received orders from an IS militant in Syria to launch a lone wolf attack by killing non-Muslims in Sandakan.
Sources said however that the militant who gave the order was a new "player" and he had contacted the teenager via social media.
They also revealed that so far, two grenades had been recovered while eight others had yet to be found.