An Islamist terror suspect who escaped from a high-security prison in Singapore last year has been arrested in Malaysia, an official said today.
The arrest ends a huge manhunt for Mas Selamat Kastari, who is accused of plotting to crash a hijacked plane into Singapore.
Kastari, the suspected commander of the Singapore arm of Jemaah Islamiyah, an organisation linked to al-Qaida, escaped from the jail on 27 February last year when he wriggled through a toilet window.
The search had largely focused on Singapore and neighboring Indonesia, where Jemaah Islamiyah activisdts were thought likely to find him shelter.
The group is accused of carrying out the 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia.
Kastari was arrested in Malaysia's southern Johor state, which borders Singapore, and is being interrogated by authorities there, Walter Chia, a spokesman for the Singapore embassy in Kuala Lumpur, said.
"The arrest was made possible with the cooperation of the two countries," Chia said.
Kastari was captured on 1 April in a joint operation involving the security agencies of both countries, Singapore's Straits Times newspaper said on its website, quoting regional intelligence officials.
The terror suspect, accused of plotting to hijack a plane and crash it into Singapore's international airport, is being held under the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial.
He fled Singapore following an internal security department operation against Jemaah Islamiyah in December 2001.
In January 2006, he was arrested by Indonesian police on Bintan island and handed to the Singapore authorities.
