Japanese probe points to Al-Qaida links with Ireland

FRESH evidence about possible links between the al-Qaida terrorist network and Ireland have emerged from an investigation by police in Japan.

An inquiry into visits to Japan over the past two years by a Frenchman on Interpol’s most wanted list has identified a definite money link between him and Ireland.

Lionel Dumont, aged 33, an Islamic convert, had been on the run from international police forces since he escaped from a prison in Bosnia in 1999 where he was serving a 20-year jail sentence. He was finally arrested in the Germany city of Munich last December before his extradition back to France last week.

Dumont is suspected of being involved with Jemaah Islamiah, a radical Islamic group based in south-east Asia with known links to Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network.

Japanese police have discovered Dumont transferred money to Ireland and Malaysia during time spent in the country. The Frenchman, who worked for a used car dealer in the city of Niigata, is known to have sent 200,000 yen (€1,470) to Ireland while there.Although the amount is small, it is understood Dumont also opened a post office account using a false name during his stay in Japan in which sums of over 10 million yen (€70,000) were regularly deposited and sent overseas.

Special Branch officers are using Interpol to obtain more information from their Japanese colleagues, hoping to trace the destination of all money wired to Ireland by Dumont.

Reports that an al-Qaida cell has been operating in Ireland first emerged in 2002. Although no strong evidence has been found, it is believed this country has been used for channeling funds for people with suspected terrorist links.