MANILA — Two alleged members of the Abu Sayyaf Group based in Zamboanga were presented to the media at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Monday.
The suspects, Hood Salvador Abdullah aka Jiking and Jimmy B. Sapih aka Bin Laden aka Assan were presented by Aguirre who was accompanied by NBI Director Dante Gierran and Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald dela Rosa.
Aguirre lauded the joint operation which resulted in the arrest of the two by elements of the NBI Counter Terrorism Division (NBI-CTD), the PNP Regional Office 9 (PNP Pro9) and Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom)-based Naval Special Operations Group (Navsog).
“We are sending the message sa mga terorista na pagtutulong tulungan namin sila at hindi namin sila tantantanan (to the terrorists that we will work together to neutralize them and we will not stop until we get them all),” dela Rosa said.
Abdullah was implicated in a June 11,2001 incident in Brgy. Tairan, Lantawan Basilan where his group forcibly took employees of the Golden Harvest Plantation as well as the August 2002 kidnapping of Jehovah’s Witnesses members in Patikul, Sulu.
He also is supposedly part of Furiji Indama’s strike group who beheads victims.
Aguirre explained Abdullah’s modus operandi was to pretend to be a security guard in a local motel. He was positively identified by victims and has known ties with other kidnap for ransom groups in Sacol Island, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Sibugay and Basilan provinces.
Sapih, who insists on his innocence and claims to be a Badjao fisherman, apparently provided fast sea transport to terror groups through small bancas with three engines. (PNA)
