October 11, 2002, Gulf News, Spy agency sought to recruit arrested Jordanian,

October 11, 2002, Gulf News, Spy agency sought to recruit arrested Jordanian, 

A Philippine intelligence agency wanted an arrested Jordanian to become a spy and help the government flush out suspected foreign terrorists, a local paper has said.

Mohammed Amin Al Ghaffari, the Jordanian who was arrested last Monday by the Bureau of Immigration for his illegal alien status, was being recruited to spy for the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), the Manila Times said.

Al Ghaffari was suspected of being the mastermind behind the bombing which killed an American soldier and two Filipinos and injured 24 others (including another U.S. soldier) in Zamboanga City on October 2. 

A report from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation alleged that Al Ghaffari was a member of Hamas. But another source said it was Al Ghaffari's brother who is reportedly a member of the Palestinian group. 

NICA agents wanted Al Ghaffari to be detained because he had earlier refused an offer to spy for the Philippine government, said the Times which quoted an unnamed source. 

Refusing to confirm or deny the report, National Security Adviser, Roilo Golez, said: "That's a classified matter."

On the night of his arrest, Al Ghaffari was supposed to meet NICA agents in Greenhills, San Juan. They were to discuss his request for an extension of his visa, which expired last June 27. 

Meanwhile, former deputy police chief Rex Piad acknowledged that he had helped Al Ghaffari secure NICA clearance twice in the past. 

Piad's revelation came after an intelligence official said: "We have been trying to find out if some Filipinos had complicity with the Jordanian national, following reports that Al Ghaffari had links with three retired police generals."

The former generals were identified as former deputy director general Piad, former police director Enrique Cuadra, and Percival Adiong.

Authorities also discovered that the three former generals were directors of the Islamic Wisdom Worldwide Mission, a foundation headed by Al Ghaffari. 

"Government and immigration agents never lost track of Al Ghaffari and could have picked him up any time they wanted to. He was never in hiding," revealed a source, hinting that Al Ghaffari has been in contact with Philippine intelligence agents.

Al Ghaffari first arrived in the country in 1985 but was blacklisted in 1995 after intelligence reports linked him to terrorist activities. Since then he has been trying to legitimise his stay by regularly following up his request for renewal of his visa with the Bureau of Immigration. 

Earlier, intelligence reports named him as the brain behind the Zamboanga bombing. 

But Philippine National Police spokesperson, Senior Supt. Leopoldo Bataoil, said Al Ghaffari was arrested because of his illegal status.