"Possible, but evidence thin." Prof. Rufa Cagoco-Guiam talks about the likelihood of Maute activities being funded by drug money. pic.twitter.com/vmW7vOB7IY

— ABS-CBN News Channel (@ANCALERTS) June 22, 2017

MANILA - A Mindanao-based professor is not surprised that government troops found 11 kilos of suspected shabu in a stronghold of Maute terrorists in the besieged city of Marawi.

Prof. Rufa Cagoco-Guiam of the Mindanao State University in General Santos City said a study they did shows strong links of illegal drugs, politics, and violent conflicts in Mindanao, particularly in Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao.

"I think we can see the beginnings of narco-terrorism with the Maute group. But I said it's very hard to prove because criminals don't want to be caught red-handed," she told ANC on Thursday.

Cagoco-Guiam is the author of the book "Out of the Shadows: Violent Conflict and the Real Economy of Mindanao", which tackles violent conflicts in the southern Philippine island.

She explained that weak governance structures and institutions in Mindanao and even loopholes in the Dangerous Drugs Act are making it easy for drug lords and war lords to navigate around what they call a "shadow economy."

The professor said it might take a long time to completely address the problem of illegal drugs, but what the government can do now is to strengthen its institutions and address the poverty issues in Mindanao.

"As long as these issues of poverty, weak governance and targeted corruption will not b addressed, the problem of drugs will stay with us," she said.