Foreign terrorist nabbed in Palawan

A suspected terrorist was arrested by  police and immigration operatives in Palawan following surveillance operations.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente disclosed on Tuesday that the   suspect, Haroon Bashir, 29, a bomb maker from Pakistan, was arrested  in a raid  at his residence along Atis road, Dacillo Compound, Barangay San Jose, Puerto Princesa City.

Recovered in Bashir’s possession were several guns and  improvised explosive devices, leading authorities to believe that  he is a terrorist bomb maker. Authorities are  investigating his possible involvement with local terrorists and their activities.

Morente said  the legal division of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) charged the suspect for violation of  immigration laws while the police  filed criminal charges for illegal possession of guns and explosives.

The immigration chief  said the BI has initiated deportation proceedings against Bashir  but  pointed out that even if it orders Bashir’s summary deportation, he would  not be deported yet as he is facing criminal charges for possession of deadly weapons, which could land him in jail if convicted by the court.

“It is only after he has served his sentence that we can deport him,” the BI Chief said.  “He will then be blacklisted and banned from reentering the country.”

“A check of his travel record in our database showed that he arrived in the Philippines on 28 April 2013, and that he [has] never left the country since then,” Morente said.

He added that aside from overstaying here for more than seven years, Bashir also failed to present his passport or any travel document, thus he is also an undocumented alien.

Source: TheManila Times