THE Abu Sayyaf Group is behind the abduction of a 50-year-old Malaysian in Indanan, Sulu last Sunday, police said yesterday.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Police Regional Office director Chief Supt. Bienvenido Latag, Jr. said the gunmen who seized Mohammad Nasaruddin Bin Saidin are believed to be Abu Sayyaf bandits based in Indanan municipality. Saidin’s age was initially reported as 38 but his passport showed that he was born on June 11, 1960.

Latag said they got the information that the Malaysian was brought by his captors to Sitio Bunga Talibang in Upper Buansa, Indanan shortly after he  was abducted.

Members of the Indanan Municipal Police Station are leading the operation to rescue Saidin.

Latag said the victim went to Sulu from Kuala Lumpur to buy gecko lizards locally known as “tuko.”