http://www.bruneitimes.com.bn/details.php?shape_ID=5209
Arrestsas Sabah probes terror 15-Sep-06 A STRING of arrests in the past year point to a remote port in Sabah as an important centre for Islamic militants who traffic arms, ideas and fighters. A historic stopover in the unregulated north-south movement of people and goods between Indonesia, Malaysia and the southern Philippines, the port of Tawau in south-east Sabah, around 500km from Kota Kinabalu, today finds itself deeply entangled in the ``war on terrorism''. ``We are still keeping a close eye on Tawau,'' said a Malaysian security intelligence source. ``It's the most convenient way to travel between southern Philippines and Indonesia...for militant training and sometimes weapons smuggling.'' In the past year, authorities have intercepted attempts to smuggle large amounts of fertiliser, detonators and fuses, useful for crude but deadly bombs, from Tawau into nearby coastal enclaves of Indonesia. No-one knows how many other shipments may have got through, mixed in with the regular trade in illegal logging, fuel, synthetic ``syabu'' (crystal methamphetamine) from the Philippines, and undocumented workers. In May, police broke up what they said was a major Islamic militant ring, arresting six Malaysians five from Tawau and five Indonesians, and capturing firearms and bomb-making instructions. Then Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Bakri Omar said at the time that the 11 were not linked to al-Qaeda but were intent on creating an Islamic ``superstate'' in South-East Asia. He said the group had assisted militants Umar Patek and Dulmatin, whom authorities said were involved in the Bali bombing in October 2002, to escape into the southern Philippines. Local police said they were shocked by the arrests, carried out by federal agents and hailed as Malaysia's biggest anti-terrorism success in years. But security analysts and residents of Tawau, home to about 375,000 people, of whom 30 per cent or more are illegal immigrants, said it was just a matter of time. They pointed to the seemingly endless coastline, powerful affinities among residents of neighbouring Philippines and Indonesia, an engrained smuggling culture, and official corruption. Residents said too few patrol boats policed their shores. Traffic in fake passports is rife, with Indonesian press reports putting the going rate at the equivalent of $US100 ($158). Local authorities are also known to provide illegal residents with identity cards as a way of building patronage. Ethnic Bugis from Indonesia's south Sulawesi largely control the transit links, legal and illegal, preserving the sense of autonomy. At least one of the suspected bomb smugglers arrested last year was a Bugis grandmother, part of a trend, authorities say, toward the militants' use of women as couriers in an effort to evade detection. But geography is the chief culprit. ``It's not so much general lawlessness, as all the little islands and places you can stop and no-one would ever know,'' said Sidney Jones, South-East Asia project director with the International Crisis Group. Down at the town jetty, it takes only minutes to establish one of the illegals' favoured landing sites, at Tinagat, a strip of palm-covered beach just outside of town. Pardho, a Filipino pedaling fake designer watches has been coming to Tawau for 16 years. ``We don't use passports, and I have not been arrested so far.'' He said he generally came ashore at Semporna, which has at least five illegal landing points. A local Philippine settlement there makes it easy for newcomers to blend in. Tawau police said they had cracked down on illegal residents in the wake of the capture of the 11 militants. Street crime and prostitution were all down, they said. But the authorities recognised what they were up against. ``The borders are very porous and there are regular passenger ferries between Tawau and Indonesia's Nunukan,'' said the security source. ``They have local contacts, they can disguise as plantation workers. They don't need hotels.'' [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
