Shown in a Mobile Phone is Australian National Robert Edward Cerantonio “alyas Mosa” who is believed to be a Jihad preacher. He was arrested in his rented apartment at Lapu Lapu City. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Police yesterday raided an apartment in Lapu-Lapu City and arrested a bearded Australian suspected of using the Internet to recruit people as fighters for the cause of Islam.
Robert Edward Cerantonio, 29, was tagged by foreign intelligence agencies as an influential “Jihadist” or “hate preacher” who used social media to recruit armed fighters in Syria and Iraq.
The suspect, also known as Musa Cerantonio, was arrested at 5:30 a.m. with his Filipina companion, Joean Navarro Montayre, 32.
Police said the woman is wanted for estafa. She was taken to the Mandaue City jail.
Senior Supt. Conrad Capa, PNP regional deputy director for operations, said Cerantonio is a native of Melbourne, Australia, and an Islam convert.
He said that based on intelligence reports, Cerantonio is a Jihad preacher who came to Cebu last week for a short vacation.
But Capa said the arrest was based on a warrant of deportation for violation of immigration laws since Cerantonio was an undocumented alien.
The Australian was flown to Manila for deportation proceedings.
Video footage provided by the police showed heavily -armed SWAT members using a sledgehammer to breach the apartment’s door.
A calm Cerantonio, who was sporting a long beard, wore a robe traditionally worn by Muslim men. His hands were cuffed at the back as he was led out of the apartment. He did not resist arrest, police said.
Several SIM cards, cellphones, and other electronic devices were recovered from the house in barangay Pajac. Cerantonio also yielded P14,000 as well as an undisclosed amount in foreign currencies.
Chief Supt. Prudencio Banas, Central Visayas police director, admitted they found no evidence that Cerantonio was engaged in terror activities.
Capa was served a deportation warrant issued by the Bureau of Immigration on July 10.
He was taken by police and immigration agents to Manila via a commercial flight later in the day and was taken to the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City for questioning.
Capa, who used to lead a special police task force formed to go after high profile fugitives, said police have been tracking down Cerantonio for over a week and had him under surveillance for months.
Quoting local and Australian sources, Rappler, a Manila-based news portal, last week confirmed that Cerantonio has been in the Philippines for “nearly a year”.
Rappler said Cerantonio was seen in Manila, Cebu and Zamboanga City.
Extradition
According to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are likely to seek Cerantonio’s extradition.
“The AFP is aware that Philippine authorities have taken action in relation to Musa Cerantonio which may result in his return to Australia,” the Australian police said in a statement.
Residents of the community where the Australian was arrested said they were caught by suprise when police swarmed the area.
“We all hid inside our homes. We locked our doors because we were afraid of getting caught in a bloody encounter,” said a resident who refused to be identified.
She said Cerantonio moved into the two-story apartment just last week.
“Bag-o pa man na siya diri. Wa mi kaila ana niya. (He’s new here. We don’t know him),” she said.
She said the house was always locked. Only the Australian’s female companion would go out to buy food and supplies.
The community in barangay Pajac is just across the General Aviation Service Area of the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
Capa said Cerantonio was born in Melbourne, Australia and converted to Islam when he was 17.
He allegedly uses the website kavkaz.center.com as well as social networking sites Facebook and
Twitter to encourage terrorism and urge Muslims to join the Jihad or holy war in Syria and Iraq.
A report in the Herald Sun said prior to his arrest, Cerantonio was boasting on social media about travelling to join the “caliphate’’ which Jihadists call the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis).
The Sun, quoting counter-terrorism experts, said Cerantonio has built a large online following urging young Australians to fight in Iraq and Syria.
The Sun as well as the Sydney Morning Herald reported that before his arrest, Cerantonio boasted on his Twitter account that he managed to evade the Australian police to join ISIS fighters who began their march to try to capture Iraq’s capital in early June. He also praised the leader of ISIS.
“Insha’Allah (God-willing) I will be arriving in Ash-Sham (the Levant which presumably is either Syria or Iraq) very shortly, keep us in your du’a (prayers), getting ready to travel,’’ Cerantonio wrote. “May Allah bless and protect our Imam, our Amir, our Khalifah, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”
In another tweet, he said he arrived in the Middle East.
“I have arrived in the land of Khilagah in Ash-Sham! May Allah honor all Muslims during this blessed time in His Obedience.”
His Twitter account has thousands of followers with his latest post getting retweeted over 600 times.
His Facebook account with 12,000 subscribers was taken down in April after he suggested to his “friends” and “followers” that they kill US politicians.
According to a Guardian report, Cerantonio’s Facebook posts violated the social networking site’s community standards on violence.