POLICE and military operatives have arrested an alleged member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in a law enforcement operation in the province of Basilan, the police said Thursday.
The Police Regional Office-Zamboanga Peninsula identified the arrested bandit as Ustadz Warid Said alias Ibno Ayob.
The police said Said was nabbed when authorities served a warrant of arrest at 12:05 a.m. Thursday, November 16, in the village of Kumalarang, Isabela City, the capital of Basilan province.
The police said the suspect has standing warrant of arrest for the crime of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with no recommended bail issued by a court in Isabela City.
The police said kidnapping and serious illegal detention is penalized under Article 247 of the Revise Penal code of the Philippines as amended by Section 8 of Republic Act No. 7659.
The ASG, which was organized in the early 1990s, is the most violent yet smallest group of lawless elements in the country.
The group had been involved in kidnappings, bombings, and beheading of hostages.