Monday, 1 December 2008

PPenh police seek last remnants of Japanese terror organisation

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Cheang Sokha
Monday, 01 December 2008

Officials say members of two Japanese leftist terror groups are suspected of hiding out in the Kingdom after 30 years on the run

POLICE are on the hunt for Japanese terrorists suspected of seeking refuge in Cambodia after decades on the run, according to law enforcement officials.

According to documents issued by the Phnom Penh police on Tuesday, copies of which have been obtained by the Post, 14 ex-members of the leftist Japanese Red Army militia and Yodo-go Group - best known for the May 1972 Lod Airport massacre in Tel Aviv - have come under investigation by Cambodian police.

Hy Prou, Phnom Penh deputy police commissioner and chief of the Central Security Office, said that after receiving requests from the Department of Immigration at the Ministry of Interior, police officials at all levels are on the lookout for the fugitives.

"We are not sure if they are in Cambodia or other countries," Hy Prou said.

"They are international criminals, so [the Japanese] need the cooperation of the countries in the region.

"Keo Vanthan, director of Interpol police at the Ministry of Interior, said that he was not aware of any request from the Japanese government asking for help locating the criminals.

"We have previously received one request from Japanese authorities seeking criminals, but not these ones," he said.

"I couldn't say whether those are dead or not, since I have not yet received the documents."

Japanese embassy officials and Immigration Police Director Thong Lim, who wrote to municipal police November 24 requesting help in finding the fugitives, could not be reached for comment Sunday.

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