Lionel Dumont

Lionel Dumont was arrested in Germany in December.

It is the first time that authorities have uncovered evidence of a network in Japan centered around a senior member of al-Qaeda.

According to the investigations, Dumont was found to have frequently contacted at least 10 foreign nationals living in Japan after he left the country in September until his arrest.

Dumont, a Frenchman of Algerian descent, had been sought by Interpol in connection with incidents that included an attempted terrorist bombing related to the Group of Seven economic summit in Lyon, France, in June 1996.

The investigations thus far show that Dumont was living in an apartment in Niigata with his German wife while working as a used-car dealer from July 2002 to September 2003, when he left for Malaysia, the sources said.

The sources said Japanese and German investigators suspect that Dumont was trying to build a cell in Japan and generated funds via the used-car business as well as laundering money through a savings account.

The Japan Times Weekly: May 29, 2004
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