Report: Suspected Abu Sayyaf mastermind of foiled attack on 2017 SEA Games in KL deported to Philippines
KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — An alleged Abu Sayyaf terrorist, arrested for plotting an attack on the 2017 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur, was released from a prison in Perak earlier this week and sent back to the Philippines.
According to The Star, 30-year-old Hajar Binadbul Mubin was found to be in possession of a fake Malaysian identity card obtained in Sabah after he was immediately arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City upon arrival at about 11.30pm on July 7.
The Philippines police revealed that Mubin had been on the run from an outstanding 2012 arrest warrant for kidnap for ransom and five gun battles with the country’s military.
Mubin, who also went by the aliases Abu Asrie, Mheiradz, Muadz and Muhadz, was believed to be the top aide of Abu Sayyaf Group’s (ASG) Basilan leader Furuji Indama.
He left the group in 2015 and fled to Sabah to evade prosecution, and eventually secured a fake Malaysian identity card and a Facebook account with the name of “Mhieradz Zhiadqie IV” to get in touch with former ASG comrades.
Mubin said tried to live “normally” during his stay in Kuala Lumpur by working as a security guard but was arrested in 2017 for his plot to disrupt the SEA Games and Merdeka Day celebrations.
He was due for release on August 30, 2021 from Tapah Prison in Perak, but this was delayed due to stringent Covid-19 movement restrictions.
After his arrest on July 7, Mubin was placed under temporary custody of the Philippine’s Southern Police District and is expected to be charged at the Zamboanga Regional Trial Court.
The ASG are an Islamist terrorist organisation in the Philippines notorious for kidnappings for ransom, assassinations, bombings and extortion, and has ties to Indonesian extremist Islamist terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.
