Law enforcement nets Basilan village exec, 3 others

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 30, 2021): Law enforcement nets Basilan village exec, 3 others (By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.)

ARRESTED. Authorities arrest a village official who allegedly has ties with the Abu Sayyaf Group bandits, including three of his companions in a law enforcement operation in Sumisip, Basilan province on Thursday (Jan. 28, 2021). In photo are the arrested suspects as they are being transported from Basilan to the Anti-Kidnapping Group headquarters at Cmp Batalla, Zamboanga City. (Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao)

Authorities have arrested a barangay official and three other companions for their alleged ties with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in a law enforcement operation in the hinterlands of Basilan province.

The Coast Guard District South-Western Mindanao (CGDSWM) identified the arrested persons as Jamiron Ajijon, the barangay chairperson of Marang in Sumisip, Basilan; Bassel Ajijon Eting, 30; Alnasre Amigos, 21; and Johan Amigos, 20.

CGDSWM said the four were nabbed by virtue of warrants of arrest around 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Barangay Marang.

In a statement Friday, CGDSWM said Ajijon has a standing warrant of arrest for murder issued in 2005 by a court in Isabela City, Basilan. The other three arrested suspects are his associates.

Ajijon is the primary suspect in the killing of businessman Roberto Musablin in 2004 in Barangay Manaul, Sumisip, CGDSWM said.

He is also an associate of Basilan-based ASG leaders Furuji Indama, Pasil Bayali, and Radzmil Jannatul, according to the coast guard.

It added that Ajijon is also the leader of the “City Hunter”, a known gun-for-hire group operating in Basilan province.

The arresting team consisting of the coast guard, military, police, and the Basilan Parole and Probation Administration Office recovered from the suspects two M-16 Armalite rifles and a .45-caliber pistol with ammunition.

CGDSWM said the arrested suspects were transported from Basilan aboard the coast guard’s BRP-Bagacay and taken to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Kidnapping Group Mindanao Field Unit headquarters at Camp Batalla in this city.

Meanwhile, Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman belied claims that the arrested suspects are members of the ASG.

“They are our allies in the fight against the ASG bandits,” Hataman said in a statement Friday. “The unfounded claims will again taint the image of Basilan province, which we have sacrificed a lot to improve."

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1128923