ZAMBOANGA CITY – Security forces captured before dawn Friday an Abu Sayyaf militant linked to the 2001 cross-border kidnappings of 21 mostly European holidaymakers in Malaysia’s resort-island of Sipadan, police said.
Superintendent Rogelio Alabata, a regional police spokesman, said Faizal Jaafar, alias Jaafar Mundi and Abu Jaafar, was tracked down from his hideout in the seaside village of Cawit here.
He said Jaafar is facing a string of criminal charges, including murder, in Basilan province and Puerto Princesa City in Palawan province. “Jaafar is presently detained at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group headquarters in Zamboanga City,” Alabata said.
Alabata did not say how police and military forces tracked down Jaafar, but Chief Superintendent Billy Beltran, the regional police commander, praised the arrest of the militant and calling it “a job well done.”
Beltran also urged citizens to help authorities in its anti-criminality campaign by providing information to the police and military and other law enforcement agencies in an effort to keep the community safe from threats by lawless groups.
“We urge the general public to continually support and cooperate with the police by providing timely and relevant information on any wanted person or terrorist who may be hiding in the community,” he said.
It was not immediately known how Jaafar manage to flee government operation in Basilan, one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, and from Palawan province. (Mindanao Examiner)
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