IT chief for Coca-Cola company arrested on suspicion of joining Islamic State

AFTER failing to show up for work for several days, police say IT chief for drinks company has been arrested over plot to travel to Syria to fight.

Coca-Cola Co signage is displayed on top of a building on Bryant Street in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. The Coca-Cola Co. is scheduled to release earnings data on on Feb. 12. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

AN executive working for a subsidiary of beverage giant Coca-Cola has been arrested on suspicion of planning to fight with Islamic State, according to a report.

Aminul Islam, the head of IT at International Beverages Private Ltd, a business arm of Coke, was detained in a police raid in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka at the weekend, news agency Reuters reports.

A police official said Islam — one of two men nabbed in the operation — had been absent from work for several days in the lead up to his arrest.

He was being held on suspicion of planning to fight with the terror group in Syria.

Police told local media the pair were members of the banned radical fundamentalist group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, or JMB, which has a history of planting bombs and executing judges, according to the International Business Times.

A senior official with the local detective branch, Sheikh Nazmul Alam, said the two suspects had admitted to persuading at least 25 students to join IS.

The second man, Sakib Bin Kama, is reportedly an English teacher working in Dhaka.

“We will fully co-operate with the law enforcement agencies as required,” International Beverages Private Ltd said in a statement in response to reports of the arrest. The company named the employee as Aminul Islam Baig.

Police seized a laptop, three mobile phones and seven jihadi books and diaries from the arrested pair, India Today reports.

Bangladesh is a majority Muslim country and has been on alert since February, after three secular bloggers were slaughtered by radical Islamists.

At least 12 people have been arrested in recent months for suspected involvement in terror activities, Reuters reports.