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Monday, May 05, 2003
Fugitive kidnap leader's associate falls
By Edwin G. Espejo
GENERAL SANTOS -- Military officials said they are now closing in on Alonto Tahir following the arrest of one of trusted men of the fugitive Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang leader in Davao del Sur Thursday last week.
Col. Nestor Ochoa, 601st Brigade deputy commander, told reporters Mundot Masalon provided Army intelligence officials valuable leads on the whereabouts of Tahir who escaped from the General Santos Reformation Center in November 2000.
Masalon also escaped from the city jail together with Tahir and 66 other inmates during a daring attack on the prison staged by suspected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The 43-year-old Masalon is one of the co-accused of Tahir in the kidnapping of the Cabalida brothers in Batomelong sometime in July 1999.
The military here said Masalon was captured at dawn Thursday last week in Malita, Davao del Sur following a tip from civilian that the fugitive inmate was hiding in the area.
Masalon did not resist arrest and initially denied he was an escapee.
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) officials, however, confirmed he is the same Masalon who escaped from the city jail.
During the tactical interrogation, Masalon denied knowing the present whereabouts of Tahir.
He claimed he was separated from the alleged Pentagon gang leader while on their way to escape.
But he admitted participating in the kidnapping of Cabalida brothers.
Masalon told his interrogators he was just following orders from Tahir when the abducted the victims.
Masalon was turned over by the military last Friday to BJMP officials, who immediately committed the fugitive to the city jail.
Sources said Tahir is still holed up in the mountains near his hometown in Pagalungan, Maguindanao.
The alleged kidnap gang leader has continued to deny involvement in Pentagon abduction activities.
He claimed in a clandestine interview early last year that the Pentagon is a creation of the police and military and brushed aside claims he is the leader of the group.
Government has put up a P2-million reward for the capture of Tahir. Sun.Star General Santos
(May 5, 2003 issue)
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27 inmates bolt Misamis jail; 14 yield