Mas Selamat Kastari, a notorious bomb maker from the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group, executed one of the most dramatic prison breaks in 2008. In February, he managed to escape from a Singaporean detention center, embarking on a daring journey that would eventually lead to his capture in Johor Baru, Malaysia.
His escape began with meticulous planning. A month ahead of his escape on February 27, 2008, Mas Selamat prepared by exercising and gathering information about the roads outside the prison through his wife during family visits. On the day of the escape, he climbed through a ventilation shaft in a prison toilet and made his way through the perimeter fence. His next move involved hiding under an expressway for five days, before navigating the monsoon drain and swimming across the Tebrau Strait to Johor Baru.
Using empty water bottles to stay afloat, he landed in Johor Baru at 5:30 am on March 3, 2008. From there, he walked 10km before boarding a bus to the hideout of one of his associates, Matin Anon Rahmat, in Ulu Tiram. Later, he moved to another location in Kampung Tawakal, Skudai, where he hid for nearly a year.
Mas Selamat and his associates, Matin and Johar Hassan, had planned terror plots, including kidnapping Singaporean Chinese citizens in Johor to exchange for the release of all JI detainees in Singapore. If their demands were not met, they intended to kill the hostages and distribute the videos worldwide.
The manhunt for Mas Selamat was intense, with Malaysia’s Counter Terrorism Division (E8) tracking down crucial leads. After months of investigation, including interrogations of JI members, Mas Selamat was finally captured on April 1, 2009, at a house in Johor Baru. His capture was a significant victory for Malaysian authorities, marking a crucial moment in counterterrorism efforts.
Mas Selamat’s case remains one of the most high-profile arrests in the region’s counterterrorism history, reflecting the extensive operations carried out by the E8 Division since its establishment. The division’s evolution from a small unit within the Special Branch in the 1990s to the key counterterrorism agency it is today is a testament to its successful efforts in dismantling terror networks across Southeast Asia.