Cotabato city: Police authorities in the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) arrested 127 wanted persons and law offenders during a 20-day law enforcement operation across the region, a police official said Thursday.
According to Philippines News Agency, Brig. Gen. Jaysen de Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRP-BAR), said police units across the region conducted 190 operations from Oct. 1 to 20, arresting individuals involved in crimes. Various illegal items were recovered during the operations, including firearms, explosives, illegal drugs, smuggled goods, and stolen vehicles, among others, worth over PHP12.4 million, he said in a statement.
In the fight against illegal drugs, the PRO-BAR field units arrested 69 suspects and confiscated PHP2.37 million worth of prohibited drugs, along with two firearms. In the campaign against loose firearms, de Guzman reported the confiscation of 63 small arms, two long weapons, a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), and a hand grenade.
Also, the PRO-BAR’s anti-smuggling efforts yielded 280 boxes and 25 reams of smuggled cigarettes valued at over PHP10 million, while illegal logging operations recovered 800 board feet of lumber. The BARMM includes the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, the Special Geographic Area in North Cotabato, and the cities of Cotabato, Marawi, and Lamitan.
