Another Al-Khobar extort gang leader arrested
COTABATO CITY – Lawmen arrested yesterday another ranking member of the dreaded Al-Khobar extortion ring, the fourth to fall since November last year.
The suspect, Tongan Fatima, was arrested in a predominantly Moro village in Libungan, North Cotabato by combined operatives of the North Cotabato and Tacurong City police led by Superintendent Joel Limson.
Fatima and Guiasilon, who have confessed to their being members of the Al-Khobar’s central leadership, were both implicated in previous bombings of commercial establishments in North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, with attacks meant to intimidate traders in the two provinces and, in effect, forced them to regularly shell out protection money to the extortion gang.
The Al-Khobar has claimed responsibility for the recent bombings of buses owned by big transportation firms in
Highly placed sources from the military and police’s intelligence communities said Fatima, an ethnic Maguindanaon, masterminded some of the bombings, including the two attacks more than a year ago in busy spots in
The North Cotabato police have earlier arrested Calo, and two other Al-Khobar members, Mohaliden Hassan and Alex Sanduyugan, in separate operations launched after the bombing in November last year of the KMCC Shopping Mall in Kidapawan City, which killed a mall worker and caused serious injuries to more than 20 others.
In similar developments through text message sent to The STAR yesterday by
Serapio said the arresting team was composed of operatives of the North Cotabato Provincial Police Office (NCCPO), Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division (RIID) in
Limson, stormed the suspect’s lair based on a warrant of arrest signed and issued by Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 20 Judge Melanio Guerrero.
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