by Alexandria Dennise San Juan
An alleged member of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) who has evaded arrest for more than a decade by working as a tricycle driver was nabbed by authorities in Quezon City.
Quezon City Police District director Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar identified the ASG man as 35-year-old Abdulmuin Yahiya, known as “Jayson” and a resident of Basilan Street in Salaam Compound, Barangay Culiat.
Yahiya has evaded arrest the last since a warrant of arrest was issued 11 years ago by Judge Leo Jay T. Principe of the Isabela City, Basilan Regional Trial Court with no provision for bail.
Eleazar added that Yahiya also worked as a member of the Peace and Order Council of Salaam Compound. Before becoming a tricycle driver in Quezon City, Yahiya went into hiding in Saudi Arabia for about eight years.
“The arrested wanted person used to be a member of the Salaam Crime Watch Group and had served well, however, even if he tried to have a new life, he has to face the case,” said Eleazar.
Joint operatives from the District Special Operations Unit (DSOU), with National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NCR-NICA) and Naval Intelligence and Security Group (NISG) of the Philippine Navy personnel nabbed Yahiya after receiving a tip from a resident of Salaam Compound that a wanted person was living in their neighborhood.
Senior Inspector Paterno Domondon of the DSOU said they immediately conducted an operation upon getting confirmation from authorities of Zamboanga and Basilan regarding Yahiya’s status.
Yahiya was nabbed when one of the arresting officers who posed as a passenger confirmed the suspect’s identity along Friday morning along Tandang Sora Avenue in Quezon City.
Domondon also found out that Yahiya is is a cousin of Hadji Taufik Sanihin Yahiya, known as “Nonong Yakan,” and one of the “hardcore” members of the ASG facing nine counts of murder and four counts of frustrated murder in Mindanao.
Domondon added that the suspect, also known as “Mauhmin Yahya,” admitted his links with members of the ASG where he worked as a courier.
