LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines – Authorities arrested an alleged follower of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari for possession of prohibited drugs and firearms in Picong town on Sunday.
Maminta Ali, said to be a senior leader of the Misuari-led MNLF faction, reportedly yielded P300,000 worth of shabu, six assault rifles and an M-60 machine gun, according to Felimon Ruiz, director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Ruiz said Ali did not resist arrest when he sensed that PDEA agents had surrounded his hideout.
Aside from Ali, the anti-narcotic agents arrested a member of the government militia identified Alinor Sampurna, who was at Ali’s place in Barangay Liangan during the raid.
Ali was said to be one of the top three targets of the PDEA in the autonomous region.