MARAWI CITY—Police seized drug paraphernalia believed to be owned by terrorists at a mosque here on Saturday, amid the authorities’ offensives and clearing operations to end the long-drawn conflict with Maute Group-led insurgents.
Chief Insp. William Santos of the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Unit in Mindanao said the mosque in Barangay Lilod was a haven and sniper lookout for the terrorists, but authorities did not find illegal drugs among the items seized.
Pictures shared by police with the media showed holes in the mosque’s walls where Maute snipers were supposedly positioned to attack advancing government troops. The mosque itself was riddled with bullet holes.
The DEU operatives also found an identification card and belongings of a Police Officer 1 whose name was withheld from the media. Authorities suspect the cop had joined the Maute forces.
Santos said the PO1 was an officer from Rizal, who had gone absent without leave, with the PNP yet to verify if he was recruited by PO2 Jessy Original, who was jailed for his suspected involvement in the night market bombing in Davao City last September.
Santos said the rogue cop was pictured with Maute operatives, allegedly with a wound and blood on his clothes.
In the house of a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology officer in Barangay Disomangcop, police also recovered a scale, which could have been used to weigh illegal drugs.
“As a jail official, that person might have supplied drugs to inmates,” Santos said.
In Lanao Lake, the Philippine Coast Guard continued to foil attempts of the Maute fighters to escape, as more teams from their special anti-terrorist operations unit have erected a blockade.
Two teams are guarding the possible exits to prevent the terrorists from replenishing their forces or their ammunition, Capt. Leo Panopio of the PCG District for Northern Mindanao said.
During his visit on Friday, President Rodrigo Duterte told government troops here that the conflict is almost over, and asked them for “a little more sacrifice” to end the crisis heading into its third month.