Missing MH370: No terror link suspected in stolen passports

KAJANG: The stolen passports used by two mysterious men to board the Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH370 which went missing last March 8 were not in the International Criminal Police Organisation's (Interpol) 'suspect list' (SL).
Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said it was because of that the two men were able to pass through the check at the Immigration counter.
"If Interpol had marked 'SL' for the missing passports, all the Immigration counters nationwide would be on the alert.
"(Therefore) I am confident with the capability of the Immigration officers who were at the checkpoint counter before the incident," he told reporters at Taman Kota here.
Earlier today, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the police had identified an Iranian, Pouria Nour Mohd Mehdad, 19, as one of the mysterious passengers who boarded the aircraft with the stolen passports.
The Iranian had used a passport belonging to an Austrian, Christian Kozel, who had reported it missing in Thailand.
As for the other passport, which belonged to Italian Luigi Maraldi, Interpol confirmed that it was used by Delavar Seyed Mohammad Redza, 30, also an Iranian.
Interpol secretary-general Ronald K. Noble, at a press conference in Lyon, France, that the two men travelled to Malaysia on their Iranian passports, then apparently switched to the stolen Austrian and Italian documents.
MAS Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew, went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing about an hour after taking off from the KL International Airport at 12.41am Saturday. It should have landed in Beijing at 6.30am the same day.
The aircraft was carrying passengers of 14 nationalities, with most of them from China and Malaysia. On the negative reports by the Chinese media on the handling of the missing aircraft by the Malaysian government, Ahmad Zahid said they should exercise patience as Malaysia was doing its best. – Bernama