THE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI), along with the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force, arrested on March 6 an alleged member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) wanted for multiple counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention in 2001. In a press statement, NBI Director Dante A. Gierran identified the suspect as Salahim H. Dawani, also known as Abu Moadz, who was nabbed in Barangay Maharlika, Taguig city by virtue of the arrest warrant issued against him in connection with the kidnapping of workers of Golden Harvest Plantation in Basilan in 2001. The NBI also said that Mr. Dawani was among those who decapitated two workers of Golden Harvest and served as close-in guard of the rest of the abducted workers, including the victim-witnesses. NBI Deputy Spokesperson Auralyn L. Pascual, in a press conference, added that Mr. Dawani torched the chapel in the plantation and the residence of the plantation manager. The bureau also said in the statement that Mr. Dawani allegedly helped in guarding kidnapped victims from Dos Palmas in Palawan, which included two American nationals. Last February, the NBI arrested another two ASG members linked to the Golden Harvest Plantation incident. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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