Manila-bound man with explosives nabbed in Cebu

Ronron
August 23, 2007

A man bound for Manila was nabbed on Wednesday afternoon in Cebu City for bringing explosive devices, police said yesterday (Thursday).

Sr. Supt. Agustin Manalo, Region 7 chief of the Police Maritime Group, identified the man as Gino “Noy” Ampuan, 18, a native of Parang, Shariff Kabunsuan.

Manalo said intelligence agents from the regional police and the military are still investigating if Ampuan is a member of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) or a local trainee of the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) in Central Mindanao.

“He claims that he was just asked by a certain Basit Usman to bring to Manila the sack that was recovered from him… He said he does not know the content of that sack,” Manalo said of Ampuan.

Manalo and his men, together with Coast Guard personnel intercepted Ampuan at the port of Cebu City upon the arrival at around 3:15 pm the other day (Wednesday) of the Superferry ship he was riding from Cotabato City.

Manalo said they have been alerted by the intelligence community that Ampuan was carrying explosive materials bound for Manila. The ship Ampuan was riding was making a stop-over in Cebu City.

“At least, we were alerted by our intelligence monitoring team that’s why we intercepted him,” Manalo said, adding, “he was just alone.”

A check at the sack Ampuan was bringing yielded a mortar for a 90mm recoilless rifle (M371-A1) and an anti-tank projectile, mixed in several pieces of bananas and sweet potatoes.

Manalo said the explosive materials were not yet assembled and were not ready to explode.

“He did not actually resist arrest because he was surprised and he said he was just asked to bring that sack to Manila. He said somebody would supposedly meet him at the port of Manila upon his arrival,” Manalo said.

Manalo said Ampuan was paid P400 for the delivery.

Usman is a notorious bomber in Central Mindanao who was allegedly trained by JI bombers. A member, according to authorities, of the renegade Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Usman has several arrest warrants for a number of bombing activities in Central Mindanao over the last few years.

Asked if the delivery of the bombing material to Manila was part of the anticipated diversionary attack of the ASG and their allied groups due to the military offensives in Basilan and Sulu, Manalo said: “It could be.”

The police had earlier placed the entire Mindanao and Metro Manila on full alert status since Monday, as well as the National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) of the military, in anticipation of possible diversionary or sympathy attacks by Moslem extremists.

On Wednesday, Philippine National Police chief Gen. Oscar Calderon said they are not discounting the possibility that the spillover will reach Metro Manila.

Manalo said Ampuan is now undergoing tactical interrogation at the Region 7 Police Intelligence Unit and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP)./DMS