Ahmed Faishal

Arrested were Islam Mohamed Himu, 33, a Bangladeshi residing in Toda, Saitama Prefecture; Bangladeshi Ahmed Faishal, 26, of Kawaguchi; Kane Yaya, 41, a Mali national living in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward; construction worker Syed Naseer Syed Gaffar, 32, an Indian national living in the village of Higashi, Gunma Prefecture; and Md Muktar Hossain, a 29-year-old Bangladeshi living in Kawaguchi.

The arrests were made during searches of more than 10 locations in Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Gunma and Niigata prefectures that included the homes and offices of foreign Muslims living in Japan.

It was recently learned that Lionel Dumont, 33, a French national of Algerian descent believed to be a senior al-Qaeda member, lived in Japan until September. He made telephone calls to these locations after he left Japan and before his arrest in Germany in December.

Faishal and Hossain were arrested for allegedly illegally entering Japan. Yaya and Gaffar were arrested on suspicion of overstaying their visas.

Investigative sources said May 27 that police have discovered bank accounts that might have been part of an underground al-Qaeda bank.

Deposits worth some ¥1 billion have been credited in the past three years to the bank accounts of two cellphone sales companies run by Himu.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 5, 2004
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