Guns, ammo said for Abu Sayyaf seized in police raid near PNP headquarters
Around P6 million worth of high-powered firearms and ammunition allegedly intended for Abu Sayyaf militants and war lords in Mindanao were seized in a raid on Saturday at a house in San Juan City 100 meters near Camp Crame, headquarters of the Philippine National Police.
PNP Director General Ronald Dela Rosa announced on Tuesday four people were captured during the raid by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) operatives. He identified them as Unding Kenneth Isa, subject of the search warrant, Haja Risdimona Isa, Aljamer Akarab Mandith and Hurbin Alhi Sahibul.
Unding Kenneth Isa lost in the vice gubernatorial race in Sulu province in the May 2016 elections.
Seized were a cache of firearms including M203 grenade launchers, M14 rifles, M16 rifles and thousands of ammunition.
"My estimate here is these are worth P6 million," Dela Rosa said in a news conference in Camp Crame.
The operation took place around 10 am in a residential area in Barangay West Crame. .
Col. Edgard Arevalo, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said there is a possibility the ammo could have come from “misfits in the military.”
“We have reports saying that there are some soldiers are possibly involved in this kind of activity. Actually, we have one soldier now facing an investigation,” said Arevalo.
Chief Superintendent Roel Obusan, CIDG director, said a civilian informant tipped them off last July members of a gun-running syndicate were spotted in San Juan.
Sometime last month, police received information two suspects and several suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits were in Manila to buy arms from the syndicate. The purpose of the rebels is to intensify its kidnapping and bombing operations in the provinces of
Sulu and Basilan.
The group, based on intelligence reports, supplies guns to the Abu Sayyaf and war lords in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, transporting it from Metro Manila to Zamboanga City then Jolo town in Sulu using sports utility vehicles which are brought on roll-on/roll-off cargo vessels.
Dela Rosa believes the syndicate has an accomplice within the government. "We suspect they have a contact from the government arsenal because how can they able to carry these large quantities of firearms and ammunition if they don't have a contact," he said.
The four are facing cases for violating the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act and RA 9516, also known as the Illegal Possession of Explosives. Emmanuel Tupas
