CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija: Authorities have gathered 66 unregistered and unlicensed guns under a one-month intensified campaign against loose firearms in this province.
Col. Richard V. Caballero, director of the Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office, said on Wednesday that the firearms were collected from Jan. 13 to Feb. 14.
He said 13 firearms were seized during the implementation of search warrants, six from police response, and 47 through safekeeping via the "Balik-Baril" program.
The firearms, he added, included .45-caliber pistols, .38-caliber revolvers, shotguns, and 9mm pistols.
He said 13 individuals were nabbed during the implementation of search warrants – two each in Gapan City and Licab; one each in Bongabon, Carranglan, Guimba, Nampicuan, Penaranda, Rizal, Palayan City, San Jose City, and Cabanatuan City.
Likewise, Caballero said eight individuals were arrested during police response operations.
“We are consistent in our aggressive operations against loose firearms and gun-for-hire groups or individuals to prevent and/or solve criminality in the province,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, operatives arrested one national level most wanted person and three other wanted persons in the province on Tuesday.
Caballero said Ranel Tadeo, 44, a resident of Purok 4 in Barangay San Isidro, this city and listed as a most wanted person at the national level was arrested under warrants of arrest for rape without bail recommended and sexual assault with PHP200,000 recommended bail.
The three other wanted persons, he said, were nabbed in Zaragoza for rape, in Bongabon for illegal gambling, and in Carranglan for violation of Presidential Decree 705 or the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines
Source: Philippines News Agency
