ARRESTED. Police officers arrest Abubakar Abdulkadil, a sub-leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), during an operation Wednesday (Sept. 7, 2022) in Jolo, Sulu. The ASG sub-leader is allegedly involved in a string of kidnappings of Filipinos and foreigners and bombings in Sulu. (Photo courtesy of CIDG-Zamboanga Peninsula)
ZAMBOANGA CITY – A mid-level leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) allegedly involved in kidnappings and bombings was arrested Wednesday in a law enforcement operation by authorities in Sulu province, a police official said.
Col. Richard Verceles, Area Police Command-Western Mindanao operations chief, said ASG sub-leader Abubakar Abdulkadil alias Basaron Arok, 35, was arrested around 7:30 a.m. in Barangay San Raymundo, Jolo, the capital town of Sulu.
Armed with an arrest warrant, Verceles said the police’s Special Action Force, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), and the Sulu police swooped down on Abdukadil's hideout in Barangay San Raymundo.
Abdulkadil has pending warrants of arrest for kidnapping with ransom and homicide issued by the court of Sulu and for murder issued by the court of Tawi-Tawi.
He was allegedly involved in a series of kidnappings of Filipinos and foreigners over the past several years.
Abdulkadil was also tagged in the 2019 bombing of the Jolo Cathedral and in the Aug. 24, 2020 twin bombings in the same town.
Verceles said Abdulkadil is one of the students of ASG sub-leader Mudzrimar Sawadjaan in making improvised explosive devices and explosive vests.
The ASG leader was taken to the CIDG-Sulu provincial field unit for documentation and proper disposition. (PNA)
