Cotabato City – Police in Maguindanao del Sur have captured Salah Tunda, a key suspect in the 2022 murder of Ampatuan town’s police chief, officials announced Saturday.
According to the Philippines News Agency, Col. Roel Sermese, Maguindanao del Sur police director, identified the 50-year-old Tunda as a member of the Dawlah Islamiyah (DI) Hassan faction and one of the province’s top 10 wanted persons. Tunda was apprehended on Friday afternoon in Barangay Poblacion, Ampatuan town, without resistance, following the execution of an arrest warrant issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 15.
Tunda is implicated in the ambush and killing of Lt. Reynaldo Samson, the then police chief of Ampatuan, and his driver, Cpl. Salipudin Endab, on August 30, 2022. The attack also left three other officers injured. The assault is attributed to the DI group, which operates in the region and is responsible for various acts of violence.
This arrest marks a significant development in the case, with Tunda being the second suspect detained this year. Earlier, on May 29, Kamir Kamsa, another suspect linked to the same group and incident, was arrested by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao while he was hospitalized in Midsayap, North Cotabato.
Authorities continue to pursue the remaining suspects involved in the 2022 ambush, aiming to fully dismantle the network responsible for this and other violent crimes in the area.