Suspect Arrested for Involvement in Iranian Terror Network

Seyed Ramin Miraziz Paknejad was followed by Malaysian security authorities for two weeks before he was arrested at his apartment

 

KUALA LAMPUR – Seyed Ramin Miraziz Paknejad an Iranian has been arrested by the Malaysian police, and is suspected of being part of an Iranian terrorist network in Bangkok that planned to attack Jewish and Israeli diplomatic targets in February 2012

Malaysian media has been reporting throughout the past day about the arrest of a 46 year old Iranian citizen named Seyed Ramin Miraziz Paknejad, who served as part of the infrastructure that served the Iranian terror infrastructure deployed in Bangkok. This network was responsible for the planning and implementation of the failed attempt to harm Jewish and Israeli diplomatic targets in February 2012.

According to the Malaysian police, Paknejad worked for five years as a prominent forger of documents and passports in South East Asia used by criminal and terrorist organizations. Among them were the members of the Iranian Intelligence’s terror squad revealed in Thailand due to an explosion that occurred in one of the bomb mechanisms intended for use against Israeli targets in the capital.

Paknejad was arrested by authorities in Thailand back in June 8 2012 on suspicion of managing a network for smuggling people and forging documents. However, Iran hurried to release him on bail, and he succeeded in slipping away from Thailand back to Malaysia through the use of a forged Turkish identity.

This week, he was arrested with his wife in Kuala Lumpur. The deputy commander of the counter terrorism special forces admitted that the arrest was made thanks to intelligence information received from a third country. Thanks to the information, Paknejad was followed by Malaysian security authorities for two weeks before he was arrested at his apartment, where equipment for forging passports, drivers licenses and other documents was found.

Thailand’s department for special investigations has submitted a request to extradite Paknejad. The extradition process surrounding another key suspect who fled from Thailand to Malaysia – Masoud Sadjat, suspected of serving as the head of a terror squad in New Delhi – ended in July 2012. He is expected to be extradited to authorities in Thailand for additional investigation and for the filing of charges. – Ronen Solomon