POLICE HAVE not detected the two alleged Uighur terror suspects who are believed to have entered Malaysia from Thailand, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said yesterday.

“We are not sure, as we have their names and their details but not their pictures,” Khalid said.

He was responding to a Bernama report that two Turks of Uighur descent, suspected of plotting terrorist attacks in Thailand, had left for Malaysia.

It was reported last week that Malaysian authorities were on high alert after information from Thailand that the two were heading to the neighbouring country.

Surat Thani Governor Wongsiri Promchana, who disclosed this information to Bernama last Saturday, said he was informed of the two men’s recent departure for Malaysia by Phuket’s Immigration Office.

“We have exchanged information among the relevant agencies and the Phuket Immigration Office has informed me that they found the names of the two Uighurs in the immigration system, showing that they left the Kingdom for Malaysia,” he said.

The governor’s leaked memorandum identified the two Uighurs as Ali Yalcin Egin and Hidayet Dorsun, who arrived in Phuket from an unidentified location on March 23.

The leaked memo alleged that the duo “may stage attacks on Chinese targets and interests in Southeast Asia”. It also alleged that two Chechens – who were not identified – planned to attack Russian interests in Thailand.

Last week, Royal Thai Police chief General Chakthip Chaijinda said the leaked intelligence memo was real and the force had been working on the information secretly for the past week.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was quoted saying on Sunday that the two were actually economic refugees.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also the home minister, said at the time that Malaysia had received information from Interpol, as well as Chinese national security authorities, about this intelligence memo issued by the Phuket Immigration Office.

The names of the two Uighurs were believed to be the same as those in a leaked intelligence memo, which had claimed that the duo and two Russians of Chechen descent were plotting terror attacks in Thailand.

Last December, Russia’s intelligence agency reportedly warned its Thai counterpart that up to 10 Syrian members of the Daesh group of militants, also known as Islamic State, had entered the Kingdom to attack Russian interests. Thai authorities confirmed there were some documents circulating among security agencies but failed to verify the content of the papers.