Sayyaf linked to killing of Sulu police officer captured in Zambo

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Local police forces have captured Friday a notorious Abu Sayyaf militant linked to the killing of a police officer in the southern Filipino province of Sulu.

Police said Benhajar Salapuddin Alan was nabbed at the port area after escaping from Sulu following the killing of Lt. Sali Salim and the wounding of another cop during an anti-drug operation in Tagbak village in Indanan town on January 12. 

A police photo shows Abu Sayyaf militant Benhajar Salapuddin Alan following his capture Friday, January 17, 2020 in Zamboanga City. (Courtesy of Ronda del Basilan) 

Alan was also being implicated in the murder here of a Muslim man Joemer Hashim Jawadin on December 7, 2015.

Police said Alan is also involved in the illegal drug and a gun-for-hire who operates in Sulu and Zamboanga. He is facing a string or criminal charges, mostly murder cases filed by authorities against him.

It was unclear how Alan managed to flee Sulu and hid in Zamboanga following the killing of Salim, leader of the Police Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit. Salim was fatally shot during an undercover drug sting against Alan’s group.

Alan, police said, is a follower of slain Abu Sayyaf leader Albader Parad and acted as ransom negotiator by the pro-ISIS group to families of their kidnapped victims in Sulu.

“The successful arrest of Abu Sayyaf member Alan is the result of the intelligence-driven operation efforts made by Sulu Police Provincial Office in coordination with other police intelligence units, Armed Forces of the Philippines and the community,” said Brigadier General Marni Marcos Jr., chief of the police force in the Muslim autonomous region. (Zamboanga Post)

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