MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration is now checking news reports that an Indonesian fugitive, who is allegedly connected to several beheadings and is helping in the training of militants, is in the country.
BI Intelligence chief lawyer Faizal Hussein said that it was only from yesterday’s news reports that they have learned that Indonesian national, Sanusi, was allegedly seen at a mosque near southern Cotabato City during the holy month of Ramadan.
“We are checking the documents on that, we only learned about it this morning. The initial information is that he did not pass through any regular entry, but we are still checking with our people down south,” said Hussein.
He added that, “at my level, there has been no formal coordination with the Indonesian authorities. We have yet to determine if he is here.”
Despite the information relayed by Indonesian officials on the whereabouts of Sanusi, the BI official said it cannot be treated with certainty because it could be another misinformation like in the case of terrorist leader and Jemaah Islamiyah’s top bomb expert Dulmatin.
It was reported that Dulmatin was hiding in the Philippines, but he was recently killed in Indonesia.
A senior Philippine military intelligence official said Sanusi has emerged as a key operative of the Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian terror group linked to al-Qaeda. He is believed to have helped fund and organize religious and combat training for new Indonesian militant recruits in Mindanao, where local guerillas are fighting to create an independent Muslim state.
Sanusi has not been implicated in any attack in the Philippines and is not on any terrorist list because authorities are just beginning to uncover his activities and the role he plays, according to the military intelligence official.
The Indonesian fugitive has also reportedly been trying to link up Filipino Muslim guerillas with potential financial donors in the Middle East.