By: Aaron Recuenco
Police have arrested four people who were tagged as among those who abducted six Vietnamese crew of a cargo vessel hijacked by the Abu Sayyaf off the waters of Basilan last year.
Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac, director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) regional police said they carried out the operation after confirming a tip-off from local officials.
He identified those arrested as Taha Upao, Bryan Upao, Ibrahim Akhmad, and Ibno Akhmad.
The four were collared during the conduct of a raid in Sitio Suba, Barangay Ulame in Lamitan City early morning of Monday.
The raid was part of the implementation of a case operational plan aimed at running after those who have been aiding the Abu Sayyaf Group in kidnapping activities.
Based on the intelligence reports by the police, the four had helped the Abu Sayyaf in the kidnapping of six crew of a cargo vessel that was supposed to dock in Davao City pier in November last year.
Three of the Vietnamese crewmen were released but two of them were beheaded by their ASG captor. The last hostage was found riddled with bullets.
