ZAMBOANGA CITY – Government forces arrested a “spotter” of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in law enforcement operation here, a top police official said Tuesday.
Brig. Gen. Jesus Cambay Jr., Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) chief, identified the ASG "spotter" as Hamid Udoh Butlangan, 50, a seaweed farmer, who was arrested through a warrant of arrest around 11:40 a.m. Monday in Omar Drive, Barangay Arena Blanco.
Cambay said Butlangan has standing warrants of arrest for violation of Republic Act 9165 otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 with no recommended bail issued in October last year by a regional court.
Butlangan is listed as Top 7 in the "Regional Priority Target Drugs Personalities," the police official said.
Cambay said Butlangan served as "spotter" of kidnap victims of the ASG bandits under the group of the late ASG sub-leader Alhabsy Misaya and “still connected with the ASG operating in Sulu.”
Butlangan was also allegedly involved in the Aug. 19, 2014 kidnapping of Michelle Panes, a businesswoman, in Barangay Labuan, 36 kilometers west of the city.
Panes and her husband, Noel, were seized from the family-owned grocery in Barangay Labuan.
Noel managed to escape when responding policemen from Zamboanga City Pollice Office’s (ZCPO) Station 10 arrived and engaged in a shootout with the gunmen, who fled aboard motorboats bringing with them Michelle to Zamboanga del Norte.
The ASG bandits released Michelle on Dec. 24, 2014 in Barangay Bilaan, Talipao, Sulu.
Cambay said Butlangan is now under the temporary custody of ZCPO’s Station 7 for proper disposition.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1113311
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