A Bangladeshi, suspected of being part of an Al-Qaeda-linked network, ran a cellphone shop directly outside a huge United States naval base at Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, and may have used the perch to track US military movements. Islam Mohamed Himu, 33, was also found to have some 1 billion yen (S$15.3 million) in his company’s bank accounts and may have operated an underground bank.
Himu’s company was located in a six-storey building which offered a good view of the Yokosuka base, the largest American naval facility outside the US. Japanese security authorities were said to have marked Himu ever since he set up shop there. There were also reports that he frequently surveyed the base from his fourth-floor office using binoculars. He has also been into the base several times. |