SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao — Four persons were arrested in Barangay Gang here on Thursday during an operation led by elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the local police.
Chief Supt. Graciano Mijares, police regional director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said the CIDG-ARMM served the search warrants against the suspects for illegal possession of firearms.
The warrants were issued by Judge Banzawan Ibrahim of the Regional Trial Court Branch 12.
Mijares said arrested were Alidin Madayang, Abir Baguio, Esrail Ebrahim and Samad Baguio, all residents of Barangay Gang.
Seized during the operation were one M16 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, and one .45-caliber pistol.
The suspects, who police said are members of an organized armed group operating in Maguindanao, are currently detained at the CIDG lock-up cell in PC Hill, Cotabato City.
Formal charges for violation of Republic Act No. 10591 (Illegal Possession of Firearms and Explosives) are being prepared against them, Mijares said.
He said a manhunt had been launched against other suspects listed in the search warrants. (PNA)