FUGITIVE NO MORE. Operatives of the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) and Philippine National Police-Special Action Force arrest an Abu Sayyaf Group leader, Tiyana Janna (in white jacket) Saturday (Jan. 7, 2023) in Barangay Bulanza, Lantawan town, Basilan province. Janna is the sixth most wanted person in the province. (Photo courtesy of ZCPO)
ZAMBOANGA CITY – A mid-level leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) who has been hiding for the past 14 years was arrested by authorities in Basilan province over the weekend, a top police official reported Monday.
Col. Alexander Lorenzo, Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) director, said Tiyana Janna alias Commander Rambo, 56, was arrested by operatives of the ZCPO and Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) in an operation around 9:45 a.m. Saturday in Lantawan town, Basilan.
Lorenzo said Janna, whose operation is based in Sumisip town of Basilan, is the sixth most wanted person in the province.
Janna has a standing warrant of arrest for murder with no recommended bail.
Authorities believed that Janna traveled to Lantawan by motorboat from this city a few days before his arrest as he was sighted in Barangay Curuan, a coastal village 50 kilometers east of the city proper.
Janna was placed under the temporary custody of the Isabela City Police Station pending his turnover to the court of Isabela City which issued the arrest warrant against him. (PNA)
