Coast guard nabs suspected Abu Sayyaf member in Zamboanga
May 30, 2017 | 1:00pm
A K-9 team of the Philippine Coast Guard inspects passengers's bags. MIGUEL DE GUZMAN, file
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — A suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf who tried to sneak into the city with passengers from Sulu was arrested when he failed to present identification.
Zamboanga City, like other local governments in Mindanao, has imposed a "No ID, No Entry" policy.
Col. Leonel Nicolas, commander of Joint Task Force Zamboanga, identified the suspect as Kimhar Asusi, alias Abu Kimar, 32, a native of Barangay Bawisan, Parang town, Sulu.
Nicolas said Asusi was nabbed early Tuesday morning at the Philippine Ports Authority wharf barely minutes after he got off the passenger ferry from Jolo.
Coast guard personnel manning the exit gates accosted Asusi after he failed to present any identification card and was later found to be an alleged member of the Abu Sayyaf group. Nicolas said authorities recovered a fragmentation grenade from the suspect.
Suspect has standing warrants
Nicolas said the suspect has a standing warrant of arrest for two counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with ransom.
The military said Asusi was also suspected of involvement in encounters against the 1st Scout Ranger Battalion troopers in Barangay Buanza, Indanan town. Two kidnapped coast guard personnel were rescued after the encounter in August 2015.
The two coast guard personnel were abducted along with a village chief in Dapitan. The two managed to escape captivity but the village official was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf group after failure to pay ransom.
The suspect denied involvement with the Abu Sayyaf and said he is just a fisherman to seek treatment for an injury to the face.
His family in the city claimed it could be a case of mistaken identity.
The authorities implemented the “No ID, No Entry” policy in all entry points leading to the city to prevent terror sympathizers from coming in and stage diversionary attacks.
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