Abu Sayyaf now into narco-terrorism - Navy official

MANILA, Philippines - The dreaded Abu Sayyaf bandit group has now ventured into “narco-terrorism” to raise money for their activities, a ranking Navy official said Wednesday. Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said they have received information that members of the Abu Sayyaf have entered into the illegal business of planting marijuana in the southern Philippine province of Sulu. “Members of the Abu Sayyaf are also into the so-called narco-terrorism. Narco-terrorism refers to those acts whereby the money obtained from narcotics are being used to finance their activities,” Arevalo said. Arevalo said that since last May, Marine soldiers, in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), have raided at least three marijuana plantations by the Abu Sayyaf, the latest of which was in Maimbung town last November 8. Two other marijuana plantations believed to be maintained by Abu Sayyaf members were also raided last May and June, the first also in Maimbung while the second one was in Talipao, Arevalo said. The operations led to the destruction of at least P7 million worth of fully-grown marijuana plants. Arevalo said the areas where the marijuana plantations were discovered were known Abu Sayyaf lairs. “This is another indication that they are in dire need of funds,” he said, noting an earlier pronouncement by Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres that the Abu Sayyaf have also resorted to kidnapping ordinary people to raise funds. The Abu Sayyaf, which has links to Osaba bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist network, was behind a number of high-profile kidnapping and bombings in the Mindanao. - GMANews.TV