Abu Sayyaf Nabbed in Sulu is Allegedly Active Non-Uniformed Personnel of PNP
One member of Abu Sayyaf arrested by policemen in Sulu is also an active non-uniformed personnel of Philippine National Police (PNP).
The Abu Sayyaf member was identified as Masckur Adoh Patarasa or Makong/Omair Sali Taib, a brother-in-law of the late Isnilon Hapilon, according to PNP chief General Guillermo Eleazar. Patarasa was purportedly the Abu Sayyaf’s finance officer and was apprehended by police intelligence officers in Jolo.
Patarasa is assigned to the Banguingui Municipal Police Station, according to Eleazar, but the PNP revealed he was a finance/logistics liaison officer with Dawla Islamiya/Abu Sayyaf. During the Marawi Siege in 2017, the suspect was also named in the Martial Law Arrest Order No. 1.
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According to police documents, Patarasa planned to provide monies to the rebels fighting in Marawi City through Isnilon in May 2017 with the help of an unidentified individual associated to the Abu Sayyaf. Patarasa is said to have joined the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan in 2001 under Khadaffy Janjalani.
According to Eleazar, he eventually shifted to the rebel group’s senior leader Radullan Sahiron in Sulu. Patarasa was also linked to Jemaah Islamiyah operator Amin Baco, popularly known as Guro Jihad, and other Abu Sayyaf figures.
Eleazar also claimed that he received money from Almaida Salvin, a designated terrorist on the US Treasury’s sanctions list who was arrested in April 2019 for illegally possessing explosives, and Merhama Sawari, who was killed in a shootout in Parañaque City with three suspected terrorists in June 2020.
“I commend our units here in Region 9 as well as other units involved in the arrest of this person, your action is a reflection of our campaign to keep the organization free from persons with ill motives,” Eleazar said.
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