What Bondi shooters did in Philippines hotel for 1 month
What's the story
The two terrorists behind the Bondi Beach attack, Sajid and Naveed Akram, stayed at the GV Hotel in Davao City, Philippines, for nearly a month, per reports. They checked into room 315 on November 1 and left on November 28. The room was sparsely furnished with two single beds, a TV, and a basic toilet. Hotel staff, speaking to the ABC radio and The Sydney Morning Herald, recalled their quiet routine with little interaction during their stay.
Hotel details
Akram's stay in Davao City
The hotel in Davao is a budget property located near city hall. The room cost about 930 pesos (roughly $24) per night. Davao is the largest city on the island of Mindanao. Mindanao's vast jungles, rocky mountain areas, and secluded outer islands have proven conducive to guerilla warfare and foreign fighters seeking training with outfits like the Islamic State-East Asia Province (ISEA). However, a mere visit does not support allegations of terrorist training, Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said.
Ongoing probe
Investigations into Akram's activities
"The duration of their stay would not have allowed for any meaningful or structured training," Ano said. He said the ISEA's presence had been substantially reduced since the 2017 siege of Marawi, with barely 50 terrorists estimated to be active from its peak 1,257 members in 2016, and that no recorded terrorist training by IS-affiliated groups had occurred since then. Sajid traveled on an Indian passport while Naveed used Australian travel documents.
Details
The father always wore sunglasses
"The suspects did not leave the city as they were in their room the whole 27 days," hotel manager Jenelyn Sayson told ABC, adding, "the longest they left...is between one and two hours." Employees stated that they were seen entering and exiting the hotel on a daily basis, leading them to believe that they did not leave the city. The staff also said that whenever they went out, the father always wore sunglasses, avoiding communication with workers and other guests.
Contact information
Akram's use of local contact number
One of the few exchanges they had with staff was when the younger man reportedly asked them where he could buy a durian. According to local media accounts, housekeeping staff discovered no indication of activity inside the room other than trash from fast food restaurants. Staff discovered wrappings from fast-food chain Jollibee in their room. An online search revealed that the Davao location of Jolibee, a restaurant famed for its fried chicken and burgers, has Halal-certified alternatives.
CCTV
No CCTV recording
The staff also told The Sydney Morning Herald that the two had booked the hotel for a week and then extended their stay by another week three times. The hotel staffer said that there was no CCTV footage accessible because the hotel's system only saved recordings for one week. However, military personnel arrived and took the computer hard disk from the hotel. Naveed(24), who survived a shootout with police has been charged with 59 offenses after waking from his coma.