Key Philippine Military and Insurgency-Related Events: Abu Sayyaf buying arms, gold with ransom from Germans

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Abu Sayyaf buying arms, gold with ransom from Germans - intel source

From InterAksyon (Nov 6): Abu Sayyaf buying arms, gold with ransom from Germans - intel source

The photo provided by Pokemon showing German hostages Stefan Viktor Okonek and Henrike Diesen with their Abu Sayyaf captors.

(UDPATE 2 - 4:17 p.m.) Members of the Abu Sayyaf have reportedly been purchasing weapons while their wives are buying up gold in Sulu province with the P250 million the group claims to have received in exchange for freeing two German hostages last month, a police intelligence source said Thursday.

The disclosure by the source, who is beased out of Camp Crame and insists on being identified only by the codename “Pokemon,” came as the Philippine National Police filed charges against a number of alleged Abu Sayyaf members involved in the kidnapping of Germans Stefan Victor Okonek and Henrike Dielen.

Pokemon is the source who earlier provided InterAksyon.com a photo of Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Henrike Dielen, 55, surrounded by gunmen in front of what appears to be a flag similar to that of the Islamic State.

He also disclosed the presence in the country of a Malaysian operative of the Jemaah Islamiya network, Amin Baco, also known as “Abu Jihad,” who reportedly operates with the Abu Sayyaf, and of a Saudi national identified only as Abdurahman, who is also a JI operative and allegedly trains local extremists in urban warfare.

Reports of a ransom surfaced even before Okonek and Dielen, who were seized from a yacht off Palawan earlier this year, were freed on October 17. Immediately after their release, an Abu Sayyaf spokesman, Abu Rami, said they had received the ransom “in full.”

While the government and military have persistently denied this, a video was posted on Facebook last week, although it has been taken down since, purportedly showing Abu Sayyaf members standing around stacks of money, purportedly the ransom.

Sought for a reaction, Armed Forces chief of staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said: "I will have that investigated. But I believe that their (Abu Sayyaf) intention of showing the bundles of money is to confuse the public there was indeed a payoff, which is not true. Who knows the money they were showing off is fake."

The military also said the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu, who are believed to be holding 10 more hostages, including European birdwatchers Ewold Horn of The Netherlands and Leo Vinciguerra of Switzerland, has been on the run from troops sent after them following the Germans’ release.

Pokemon, however, said: “Our alpha (assets) told us that the ASG’s and their wives are on a buying splurge for gold and weapons in Sulu.”
In fact, he said, their informants were claiming that the gold supply in the southern province has been dwindling.

“It now appears that they have indeed received the P250 million ransoms paid for the safe release of two German tourists that the group have seized from Palawan last April,” Pokemon said.

However, drawing on information they had received earlier, Pokemon said the indications are that the Abu Sayyaf received P240 million, with P10 million apparently going to “those who helped in the negotiation or to those who brought the ransom money to the ASG.”

Another Crame intelligence source also said an Abu Sayyaf sub-commander, Alden Bagatti, had been contacting Mindanao-based gunrunners.

This source also said Bagati, who he claimed is married to a military officer from Mindanao, could end up buying weapons from the government arsenal.

Aside from Abu Rami, the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group filed complaints of kidnapping for ransom and serious illegal detention charges against Mundi Sawadjaan alias Mon, Mudjapar Sawadjaan alias Longhair, Yusop Jalmaan alias Job, Roger Saji and Abu Jannah alias Jibang.