Gun store with ASG links used as front to arm Maute – PNP

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is investigating reports of a gun store in Mindanao reportedly being used as a front to arm the Maute Group and its allies responsible for the attack in Marawi City.

The gun store reportedly has links with Isnilon Hapilon, allegedly the designated leader of the ISIS in Southeast Asia, and a notori-

ous Abu Sayyaf leader.

Senior Supt. Valeriano de Leon, acting chief of the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO), said the gun store was given a permit a long time ago after it complied with all the requirements needed to run the business.

“Another information came in that he (Hapilon) is using another person,” said De Leon.

Right now, De Leon said they are now establishing the identity of the gun storeowner and the extent of its alleged connection with Hapilon.

The official said all the details were provided by their men on the ground, especially those conducting intelligence-gathering activities in Marawi City and nearby areas.

All the reports, however, are still raw as ground troopers have not yet responded on verification and validation processes ordered by the national police leadership, according to de Leon.

A day after the Marawi City attack, Maute gunmen were reported to have also ransacked a gun store in Marawi City.

Security officials earlier raised the issue on the support system that the Maute gunmen have been getting due to their large supply of guns and ammunition.

The gunfight between the government troops and the Maute gunmen is now more than a month, with the death toll on the gunmen, soldiers, cops and civilians now at nearly 400.