ASG-SUB LEADER ARRESTED. NCRPO chief, Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar (left) presents to the media ASG sub-leader Ibrahim Lambog Mullo (2nd from left) on Friday (Oct. 4). Mullo was arrested in a joint operation by the police and military in Barangay Batasan Hills on September 27. (Photo courtesy of NCRPO PIO)
MANILA -- Authorities arrested a sub-leader of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group in Quezon City, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said Friday.
NCRPO chief, Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar identified the suspect as Ibrahim Lambog Mullo, 26, who initially identified himself as Agimar Abi Ahaja to conceal his true identity.
Mullo was arrested by combined personnel of Quezon City Hall Police Community Precinct (PCP, District Mobile Force Battalion (DMFB), District Special Operations Unit (DSOU), Batasan Police Station (PS 6) and the Intelligence Group (IG) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Mullo's arrest stemmed from a tip from a concerned citizen that he was seen on Ilang-Ilang St. corner Commonwealth Avenue in Barangay Batasan Hills, around 7 p.m. on September 27.
The suspect yielded an unlicensed .45 caliber pistol and a sling bag with a fragmentation grenade.
Before his arrest, intelligence information disclosed that an ASG member was spotted in the area.
Col. Ronnie Montejo, Quezon City Police District acting director, said based on the investigation, Mullo arrived in Metro Manila along with certain Arnel Flores Cabintoy alias Musab and Feliciano Mañas Sulayao Jr. alias Abu Muslim, a.k.a Rowel S. Adam, sometime in January.
Cabintoy and Sulayao were arrested in Barangay Culiat last June 15 during the implementation of an order for the apprehension of personalities involved in the rebellion in Mindanao issued by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who is also the administrator of martial law in Mindanao.
However, Mullo claimed that he had just moved to Quezon City to attend to his wife who had recently given birth.
He said he works in a construction firm in San Miguel, Bulacan owned by his wife’s uncle in a housing project for the Army Scout Rangers.
Montejo said the intelligence information further revealed that Mullo was recruited into the ASG sub-group (Ajang-Ajang Group) initially through social media by ASG sub-leader alias Pading in 2017 while he was residing in Zamboanga City.
Mullo was enticed to join the ASG because of the promise of PHP10,000 monthly allowance and had his first monthly allowance from Pading through an unidentified female courier whom he met in Paseo Del Mar in Zamboanga City.
Thereafter, he finally decided to join the ASG in Patikul, Sulu under Pading's group.
Mullo said their group under Pading is under the Islamic State-inspired ASG leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan.
Mullo was issued with an Armalite rifle by the ASG and admitted that he had participated in several armed encounters against government troops in Patikul, Sulu.
He claimed that he and his wife had already decided to go to Manila in 2018 to look for work and live a normal life.
The suspect said he was able to leave the ASG in Sulu, after asking permission from Pading to allow him to have a short vacation in Zamboanga City with his wife.
He never returned to Sulu and decided to go to Manila instead, saying he sold his Armalite to a fellow ASG member.
Cases of violation of Republic Act 10591 (The Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition) and RA 9516 (Unlawful and Illegal Possession of Explosive) were filed against Mullo before the City Prosecutor’s Office.
Montejo said although there is no direct evidence linking him to any terror activities in the city, a follow-up investigation is being done to find out the people aiding and harboring him. (PNA)
