Posted on 05/26/2004 2:04:58 AM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese police arrested five foreigners on Wednesday after carrying out their first raids in a widening probe of suspected al Qaeda activities centering on a French national who spent over a year in Japan.
Police searched 10 locations following media reports last week that Lionel Dumont, who was arrested in Germany last December, was trying to build up a base in Japan to support al Qaeda among a network of foreigners in the country.
Dumont, a French national of Algerian descent, is suspected of being involved in delivering equipment and funds to al Qaeda during his stay in Japan after entering the country on a false passport in 2002, Japanese media said.
Japan, a close ally of the United States, stepped up security at key facilities after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington and has been on heightened alert since a letter purportedly from al Qaeda said Tokyo would be targeted once Japanese troops set foot in Iraq.
Japan has sent some 550 ground troops to southern Iraq on a non-combat mission to help rebuild Iraq.
Police said they arrested an Indian, a Malian and three Bangladeshis for violating immigration laws.
The government's top spokesman said he hoped the police action would yield clues about Dumont's activities.
"We have information that an al Qaeda-linked individual...had contacts with various people in the country and was engaged in certain activities. I hope that the details will be revealed," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a news conference.
"What is important for our nation's security is that we prevent an international terrorist organization from operating," Hosoda said.
AL QAEDA CELL?
Wednesday's action involved individuals with connections to Dumont, including a Bangladeshi man who police suspect has links to an Islamic group in Pakistan seeking independence for the Kashmir region, Japanese media said.
Kyodo news agency said the police also wanted to investigate their activities and cash transfers among them.
Referring to the Indian who was arrested, a police official said: "We are aware of reports about his links to the Frenchman and will try to find more about it through our investigation."
Television footage showed police at various buildings, including what were described as the homes of foreign Muslims and the office of a used car sales firm run by one of them.
Dumont, 33, lived in Niigata, northwest of Tokyo, with his German wife from July 2002 until September 2003 and traveled frequently between Japan, Malaysia and Germany, using the forged passport, media said.
Government spokesman Hosoda said he regretted that passport controls at the time failed to catch Dumont, adding that the government will review and tighten them.
Dumont made some 45 deposits and withdrawals, each involving several hundred thousand yen (100,000 yen is about $900), in a one-month period after he entered Japan in 2002, media reports have said.
Working with Pakistani colleagues, Dumont sold used cars to Russia and North Korea during his stay in Niigata, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said.
Dumont had been wanted by Interpol in connection with various incidents including an attempted bomb attack against the Group of Seven summit in Lyon, France, in June 1996. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by a French court in 2001 in his absence.
wow, these rats are everywhere
wow, these rats are everywhere
Yeah, there could be a "deadly" cooperation between them.
Police is maybe only usefull for old ladies but I dont think I ever been in a country where it is more safe to walk the streets any time day or night.
Japanese oppinion of Pakistanis, Thai other non-Japanese and non-Europeans/North American is somewhere between their oppinion on rats and dogs. While they provide usefull work they are tolerated, if any sortof attack occurs in Japan and this status quo is disturbed results for these people will be very bad. Japan migh pull out of the coalition, unfortunately pacifism was deeply ingraned into them after ww2. But big chunk of foreigners will be deported very fast and nobody will cry about it.
US was a bit to successful in making japan a peacefull country. Iraq is the first foreign deployment of Japanese troops since ww2 who knows maybe pacifism can be undone with time.
fyi, get the 'l', 't', 'p' and 'space' buttons on your keyboard fixed! :-)
Well, I'll be....... one of the terrorist-in-Japan bastards, a Bangaladeshi, is discovered to have had a BUSINESS OPERATION in Yokosuka, Japan (just outside the gate of the large US Navy base there). Police are looking at the prospect of their efforts to get in there and blow up a facility.
http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo/news.asx?cid=20040526-00000058-jnn-soci-movie-001&media=wm300k
Thanks for the ping!
Nope. Ever since North Korea launched that missile *OVER* Japan, the Rising Sun has been re-arming and expanding her defense roles.
So long as North Korea is agressively Communistic, Japan will continue to move towards a war footing. Pacifism is dead in Japan.
By the way, when was the last time we arrested anyone associated with Al Qaeda? I heard this afternoon that the FBI is aware of sleeper cells here...why not round them up?
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