By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan | Philippine News Agency
Members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) have arrested an alleged online seller of unlicensed firearms in Pampanga province.
In a statement on Monday, CIDG Chief Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III said the suspect, identified as alias “Oliver,” was arrested in an entrapment operation on Nov. 22, in front of a parking area of a mall in Barangay Lagundi in the town of Mexico.
The suspect was apprehended after he was caught red-handed selling unlicensed firearms to an undercover police officer.
Confiscated from the suspect were one Colt Upper Receiver (Barrel) for a cal. 5.56 rifle, one Bushmaster Lower Receiver for a cal. 5.56 rifle, one Bolt Carrier Assembly for a cal. 5.56 rifle, steel magazine, rifle bag, 99 pieces of P1,000 boodle money, a Mitsubishi Space Gear vehicle, and a mobile phone.
A subsequent search led to the seizure of one cal. 22 SW22 Victory pistol with an optic and suppressor, one cal. 45 MKIV Colt pistol with an optic, steel magazines, ammunition, and one sling bag. These items are subject to verification.
Torre said the suspect and the confiscated items are currently under the custody of the CIDG Provincial Field Unit Pampanga office for documentation and the filing of charges for violations of Republic Act (RA) 10591 (Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition), in relation to Section 6 of RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act).
842 firearms seized in Central Luzon
In a related development, the Police Regional Office (PRO) 3 (Central Luzon) seized 842 firearms during operations conducted from Oct. 1 to Nov. 23 in the whole region.
PRO 3 Director Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan said that based on the data from the Regional Operations Division, a total of 239 persons were also arrested for violation of RA 10591 in the same period.
He added that out of 842 illegal weapons, 832 were short firearms and 10 were light weapons.
Meanwhile, 280 of these firearms were seized through law enforcement operations such as search warrants and checkpoint operations; 153 were voluntarily surrendered by the owners; and 409 were obtained under the Revitalized Katok program, where the police visit the homes of gun holders to encourage the renewal of expired licenses or permits to carry.