(Eagle News)– A 64-year-old Iraqi explosives specialist described as having close links to extremist groups in the Middle East was taken into custody over the weekend, the police said on Monday.
The Philippine National Police said Taha Mohamed Al-Jabouri was nabbed by operatives of the intelligence group on Sunday in Barangay Malabania, Angeles, Pampanga at 3 a.m.
The PNP said this was after they received information through the barangay information network that a “suspicious-looking” person with Middle Eastern features fitting the description and photographs provided by the Iraqi embassy was in the area.
The Iraqi embassy had described Al- Jabouri as a chemist with knowledge in explosives who has close ties with extremist movements such as Hamas.
The suspect–who has a masters degree in explosives technology from Belgrade University in Serbia—reportedly arrived in the country on Aug. 27, 2017, during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.
According to the police, they found Al-Jabouri in the area “toting a large black luggage.”
When asked, Al-Jabouri showed his travel documents that showed his visa had already expired on November 9, 2017.
His luggage yielded different denominations of money, the police said.
According to authorities, Al-Jabouri admitted he worked as a consultant for Hamas in Damascus, Syria and moved to Istanbul, Turkey in 2012.
He said he traveled to Manila to meet a Chinese business group that was hiring him as a consultant, police said.
The PNP is now coordinating with the Bureau of Immigration and the Iraqi Embassy “for further disposition” of Al-Jabouri. With a report from Mar Gabriel, Eagle News Service