3 suspected Maute members nabbed in CDO

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PNA) – Three suspected members of the Maute terror group from Lanao Del Sur were arrested by police operatives in Cagayan de Oro City Sunday evening, the police said Monday.

Chief Insp. Mardi Hortilloza, spokesperson of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (COCPO), identified the suspects as Cedic Oroca, Odin Alamada and Sainoden Solaiman, all from Marawi City, Lanao Del Sur.

But local police’s worries about the presence of Maute group members in the city did not end with the arrest of the three suspected terrorists.

According to Insp. Maricris Mulat, the station commander of the Divisoria police here, local police was earlier alerted that six members of the Maute group were on their way to the city.

“We are worried that if three arrested suspects were among the six unidentified persons, the other three suspects could still be in Cagayan De Oro City now. The local police force is now on high alert,” Mulat said.

She said that the military and the police are now conducting a joint investigation of the suspects’ background in coordination with other intelligence agencies in Northern Mindanao.

Hortilloza told reporters that the three suspects were arrested in a lodging house along the highway here, after the police raided another hotel where the three suspects earlier stayed before transferring to the lodging house.

Hortilloza said the suspects checked in at the hotel last Saturday, and were supposed to check out Sunday noon. “Hotel management called the suspects late Sunday afternoon to inquire if [they] would extend their stay,” Hortilloza said.