ZAMBOANGA CITY —Combined police and military operatives have arrested an alleged Abu Sayyaf Group brigand involved in the kidnapping of 21 people in Sipadan, Malaysia 16 years ago, an official announced Monday.
Senior Insp. Helen Galvez, local police spokesperson, identified the arrested suspect as Edward Lee Pisan alias Salih Abdulla Jainal, 52, a resident of Barangay Camino Nuevo, this city.
Galvez said Pisan was arrested around 4:45 p.m. Saturday near a shopping mall along La Purisima Street, Barangay Zone III, this city.
Galvez said Pisan has a standing warrant of arrest for kidnapping and serious illegal detention with no recommended bail issued by a court of Parang, Sulu.
She said Pisan was involved in the kidnapping of 21 people—10 Europeans and 11 Asians—on April 23, 2000 in Sipadan Dive Resort in Malaysia.
She said the arrested suspect is a follower of the late ASG leader Ghalib Andang alias Commander Robot.
The ASG brigands herded the hostages to the hinterlands of Sulu where they were released in batches months later.