SINGAPORE: Mas Selamat Kastari, Singapore's Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader who escaped from Whitley Road Detention Centre on February 27 last year, has been arrested.The terrorist, who once plotted to hijack a plane and crash it into Changi Airport, was arrested in Malaysia in a joint intelligence operation involving the internal security agencies of the two countries.
It is understood that Mas Selamat was actually arrested over a month ago but had been under interrogation in Malaysia.
It is believed that the fugitive will soon be brought back to Singapore.
Last December, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had said: "He is one up on us, but the game is not over. One day we will catch him."Most security experts had expected the fugitive to head for Indonesia, where other JI members are believed to be based. So, it came as a surprise to some that he was arrested in Malaysia.
Mas Selamat gave his guards the slip while he was being taken to the toilet at the detention centre.
The escape sparked the largest manhunt in Singapore's history. Thousands of police and military personnel were roped in to comb the island for the fugitive. Checks at the borders were stepped up, road blocks were set up, officers went house to house, and forested areas were swept.
There were also offers of a million dollar reward by two businessmen for his capture.
Courtesy: Channel Asia
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