ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police officers have seized five high-powered firearms and millions of pesos worth of smuggled cigarettes as they arrested two alleged arms suppliers of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in a raid in this city, police officials announced Friday.
Brig. Gen. Ronaldo Genaro Ylagan, Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) director, identified the suspects as Asidol Susukan Ahalul and Julhari Sahara alias "Brando".
Ylagan said Ahalul and Sahara were arrested as the policemen led by Col. Rexmel Reyes, Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) director, armed with a search warrant, swooped down on the rented house of the suspects around 8:30 p.m. Thursday in Barangay Sta. Barbara, here
He said the search warrant served against the two suspects is for violation of Republic Act 10591 otherwise known as the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.
The two suspects yielded five M4 Carbine rifles.
However, he said the members of the raiding team have also confiscated several boxes of assorted smuggled cigarettes, estimated worth millions of pesos, that were discovered in the compound of the suspects’ rented house.
Reyes said the arrested suspects and confiscated firearms and smuggled cigarettes were brought to ZCPO for proper disposition and subsequent filing of a criminal case against them.
Reyes added that the application of a search warrant was made possible through case build-up against the arrested suspects, who were monitored providing armaments and logistical supports to the ASG in the provinces of Sulu and Basilan.
Meanwhile, four members of the ASG were killed while another was arrested in a separate operation in Lamitan City, Basilan on Thursday.
PNP Special Action Force (SAF) commander, Maj. Gen. Felipe Natividad, said members of 84th Special Action Company of the Rapid Deployment Battalion, PNP Drug Enforcement Unit, and local police were about to serve arrest warrants against Baradi Ganie, Remie Ganie, Dawam Morales, Mando Morales, and Jack Akalul in Barangay Balobo, when the suspects opened fire at them.
Dawam was arrested while the four other suspects were killed in the encounter.
The suspects are wanted for murder, kidnapping, and car theft and are all believed to be under the command of ASG sub-leader Radzmil Jannatul.
Authorities recovered one KG9 9-mm submachine pistol, one .45 caliber pistol, a shotgun; one .30 caliber, and numerous fired cartridges of different calibers at the encounter site. (with report from Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
