TACURONG CITY (Mindanao Examiner / May 1, 2014) – Philippine police have captured Thursday a notorious bandit leader linked to many kidnappings and murders in the southern city of Tacurong.
Police said Datukan Samad, who escaped from jail along with 10 hardened criminals in July 2012, was captured inside a bar drinking with his friends.
Samad, who uses the alias Lastik man, was arrested by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and police operatives from Sultan Kudarat province following a tip off.
A former rebel leader, Samad escaped from jail after sawing off iron grills in his cell at the Maguindanao provincial prison. His escape came five months after his followers, armed with grenade launchers and automatic weapons, stormed a jail facility in Kidapawan City and tried to rescue him, but failed.
Three people were killed in the raid after gunmen fired their weapons on the jail, but guards repulsed the attackers. (Rose Muneza)
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