Pentagon gang leader eludes arrest

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao —Tahir Alonto, the notorious leader of the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang, eluded arrest the other day when the military raided his hideout in Buluan town.

Alonto, who has a P10 million reward on his head, and his men, abandoned their safehouse in haste, leaving behind firearms and other military provisions.

Brig. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala, Commander of the Army’s 301st Brigade, said the raiders, composed of members of their anti-kidnapping unit and the 66th Infantry Battalion, found two assault rifles, a dozen live B-40 anti-tank rockets, a map and tools for fabrication of home-made explosives in the gang’s hideout.

Local officials in Buluan said Alonto and his men may have noticed the soldiers approaching their hideout thus, giving them enough time to escape into a nearby farm.

Witnesses told Army probers that two of the kidnappers were seen pouring powdery crystals, believed to be shabu, into a creek before they ran towards a nearby marsh.

Dema-ala said the raid was carried out after they were tipped off by local leaders and Muslim preachers in Buluan of the presence of Alonto and his followers in a secluded area in their hometown.

Alonto, one of the founders of the Pentagon blamed for the recent spate of kidnappings in Central Mindanao, allegedly have links with separatist forces in Maguindanao.