BUTTERWORTH – Police detained a 32-year-old local man and a 38-year-old foreign woman after finding a package containing a homemade improvised explosive device (IED) in their unit at the Taman Pandan flats, here yesterday.
Seberang Prai Utara (SPU) police chief Mohd Asri Shafie said the police received a call from a woman at 1.05pm to notify that a parcel, believed to contain explosives, was found at the flats.
Following the call, a bomb disposal squad, forensic and K9 Unit were dispatched to the location.
According to the witness, there was an explosion in front of a house and upon inspection, police verified that the parcel contained homemade explosives.
“Following the expose, the SPU Criminal Investigation Department detained a man and a foreign woman who were housemates at about 8.30pm in the Taman Pandan flats area.
“Following interrogations, police were led to a parcel of explosives, a pistol, bullets and a sickle,” he said in a statement here today.
Asri said upon further interrogation, the man admitted to learning the art of bomb making through the internet while the material was also sourced online.
He added that both suspects who would be remanded for four days were not positive for drugs, had no criminal records and that the case was not related to any terrorism activities. – October 9, 2023