By Jong
Cadion
PAGADIAN
CITY, Zamboanga del Sur (Sep. 29, 2016)- Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and its
different factions are using illegal drugs as means of funding and motivation
for members in staging terrorism, criminal acts and other anti-Islamic
activities, military official said.
Information
Officer Col. Rodrigo Gregorio of Joint Task Force (JTF) Sulu, Southern
Philippines disclosed that this is the findings of numerous units in ZamBaSulta
area confronting the ASG. Reports coming from line units indicate that those
engaging the troops are mostly young recruits who are most probably high in
certain drugs particularly Shabu as evidenced by paraphernalia being recovered
in the belongings of dead ASG and in their lairs.
Col.
Gregorio said that drugs are being used to lure youngsters who may have been
given shabu for free and later on recruited once they are addicted to it.
Reports also indicate that money generated from shabu is being used to finance
the ASG daily operations
Col.
Gregorio added that this is also the revelation of several former hostages of
the group. Those guarding hostages are always high on drugs. Former Indonesian
hostage Herman Bin Manggak revealed in his debriefing that five to seven ASG
are always guarding him and were personally seen by him taking Shabu. Talking
to interpreters, he said he was nearly rescued three times by government troops
who were engaged in fierce gun battles. In those instances, Herman said he
witnessed the effect of drugs to the ASG bandits who treat a deadly gun battle
as a sort of game.
Proliferation
of drugs in ZamBaSulta area is believed to be connected with the handiwork of
ASG in cahoots with big drug lords. In Sulu in particular, several anti-drug
operations by joint PNP-AFP troops resulted in drug haul and death of some
suspects and government t troops as most anti-drug operation results in bloody
confrontation with heavily armed suspects. The latest fatality in the drug war
in Sulu is PO2 Tirso Mantalaba, 27 years old, of 24SAC, SAF, PNP, Col. Gregorio
also disclosed.
It may
be recalled that last Saturday, joint PNP-AFP forces composed of 24SAC, 33SAC,
52SAC of SAF,PNP and the Army's 10IB conducted a joint anti-illegal drug
operation in Brgy Kaunayan, Patikul, Sulu which resulted to a gun battle.
He
said, the suspected drug dealer Anuddin Akiran Daharani, 38 years old, fired
the first shot that caused the death of PO2 Mantalaba while the suspect was
also killed in the firefight. Troops recovered high powered firearms and drug
paraphernalia.
PO2
Mantalaba, a native of La Trinidad, Benguet was flown to
Manila Sunday to be brought to his family.
In
Zamboanga City, another ASG member, Arnisar Dangsani Ismaluddin was arrested by
police in a buy-bust operation Tuesday afternoon. In Metro Manila,
several ASG members involved in the drug trade have also been arrested.
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