Malaysian ‘terrorist’ captured

By Lee Ann P. Ducusin

Journal Online, Friday, June 3, 2011

IMMIGRATION and naval intelligence operatives captured a Malaysian believed to be a member of an international terrorist group operating in the south.

Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David, Jr. said members of the BI’s Mindanao intelligence unit and the Navy’s intelligence command in Region 11 arrested Abdul Aziz Usman, also known as Aziz Bin Othman in Bgy. Inawayan, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.

Usman, 50, was nabbed together with his aide Omar Abu, who is likewise believed to be a Malaysian national.

They were arrested after months of intensive surveillance by authorities.

The BI chief added that the Malaysian is suspected of working as a finance officer for a terrorist group, which is closely associated with the Abu Sayyaf bandit group and the Al-Qaeda network of slain terrorist Osama Bin Laden.

“He could not present any travel documents, thus we will deport him for being an undocumented alien,” he said.

According to the report, Usman was also the object of complaints for his involvement in the trafficking of Filipino Muslim women to Malaysia, some of whom are forced into prostitution and white slavery.

Maria Antonette Mangrobang, BI acting intelligence chief, said Usman was about to marry a Filipina in a ceremony at a mosque when he was picked up by the arresting agents.

Earlier, the Philippine Navy said at least five foreigners with links to Bin Laden are hiding in the south.

Topping the list is US-trained engineer named Zulkifli Bin Hir, alias Marwan, a Malaysian who reportedly trains the Abu Sayyaf in bomb-making.

Also being hunted is Mauwiyah, a Singaporean; Indonesians Saad and Qayyim; and Malayian Amin Baco, a Malaysian.

Journal Online

Raps filed vs 122 Vietnamese nabbed for poaching

By Abigail Kwok

InterAksyon, Friday, June 3, 2011

MANILA, Philippines - Police on Thursday filed charges of illegal fishing and illegal entry against 122 Vietnamese fishermen caught poaching Monday off Balabac in Palawan.

Chief Superintendet Artemio Hicban, Mimaropa regional police director, said Friday the charges were filed before the Puerto Princesa City regional trial court.

The Vietnamese, onboard seven fishing vessels, were arrested May 30 by a composite team of police and Philippine Navy personnel.

Asked if the Vietnamese fishermen would be deported, Hicban said: "It all depends on the results of the negotiation with the Vietnamese embassy if they will be deported or they will serve their sentence here."

InterAksyon

Philippine troops nab suspected Malaysian terrorist

by Xinhua

China Daily, Thursday, June 2, 2011

MANILA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Philippine troops arrested a suspected Malaysian terrorist and his Filipino companion in the province of Davao del Sur, a military spokesman said Thursday.

Philippine Navy Spokesman Lt. Col. Omar Tonsay said Navy intelligence operatives and Immigration officers nabbed Abdul Aziz Usman while he was getting married last Saturday at Kalagan mosque.

Usman's companion, Omar Abu, was also arrested. Abu is a member of the Tausug tribe and a resident of Sulu province.

Tonsay said Usman "was not able to present any document regarding his entry to the Philippines" when arrested by elements of the Naval Intelligence Security Group and the regional Bureau of Immigration.

A military report said Usman "advocates the belief of (slain al- Qaida leader) Osama bin Laden." Usman is also suspected of working for a finance officer for a terrorist group affiliated with the Abu Sayyaf and the al-Qaida.

China Daily

BI, Navy officers nab 'Malaysian terrorists' in Davao del Sur

VS, GMA News, Thursday, June 2, 2011

Immigration and Navy intelligence operatives arrested on May 28 two Malaysians believed to be members of an international terrorist group operating in the southern Philippines.

Arrested was Abdul Aziz Usman, a.k.a Aziz Bin Othman, in Barangay Inawayan, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur by joint elements of the Bureau of Immigration’s Mindanao intelligence unit and the Navy’s intelligence command in Region 11.

Usman, 50, was nabbed together with his aide Omar Abu — likewise believed to be a Malaysian national who does not speak Pilipino or any other Philippine dialect, according to a Bureau of Immigration statement issued Thursday, citing Commissioner Ricardo David Jr.

Both were arrested after months of intensive surveillance in the south, David said.

Usman is allegedly the finance officer of a terrorist group. “This information is based on initial reports by the arresting officers," lawyer Maria Antonette Mangrobang, the BI’s acting intelligence chief, said in an interview with GMA News Online.

“This information still has to be confirmed, Mangrobang said, adding that her bureau still has “to coordinate with other government agencies to verify the initial report."

However, the Philippine Navy's Naval Public Affairs Office said in a separate statement Thursday, "The suspect, together with a certain Omar Abu of Sulu were spotted by operatives of the PN and the BI-11 and upon verification of papers the suspect failed to present any document legalizing his stay in the Philippines."

As far as the Immigration Bureau is concerned, "they violated Immigration laws and for that we will have to deport them," she said.

A follower of Bin Laden

But Usman supposedly told the arresting officers “that he is a follower of Osama bin Laden, the slain leader of the terrorist network al Qaeda, the acting intelligence chief said.

“He could not present any travel documents. Thus, we will deport him for being an undocumented alien," David said.

Mangrobang also said that Usman told the arresting officers that he is a Malaysian, prompting the BI to inform the Malaysian embassy in Manila about the arrest of Usman and Abu.

The suspects are now undergoing tactical interrogation by law enforcement agencies before the bureau starts summary deportation proceedings, he added.

Usman was about to marry a Filipina in a ceremony at a mosque when he was picked up by the arresting agents, Mangrobang said.

Initial investigation showed that Usman took up Accounting and Finance at the University of Tennessee from 1996 to 1999 in the United States, Mangrobang said.

“He confessed that he has been traveling back and forth to our backdoor via Jolo, Sulu from Sabah, Malaysia," she added.

Earlier, the Philippine Navy said at least five foreigners with links to Bin Laden are hiding in the south.

Topping the list is a US-trained engineer named Zulkifli Bin Hir, alias Marwan, a Malaysian who reportedly trains the Abu Sayyaf Group in bomb-making.

Also named were a Singaporean who goes by the name of Mauwiyah, Indonesians Saad and Qayyim, and another Malaysian Malayian Amin Baco.

GMA News