7 nabbed, firearms, grenades seized in Malabang
MALABANG, Lanao del Sur --- Authorities seized 10 firearms and explosives from armed men during law enforcement operations here Wednesday night.
The arms cache -- comprised of a .50 caliber Barrett sniper’s rifle, five M16 assault rifles, an M79 grenade launcher, two .45 caliber pistols, a .38 caliber revolver, a fragmentation grenade and five 40 millimeter grenade projectiles --- is now in the custody of the Malabang municipal police.
Brig. Gen. Jonas Lumawag, commander of the 1st Marine Brigade, said Thursday the firearms and explosives were confiscated by combined personnel of the 5th Marine Battalion and the municipal police from gunmen holed out in the border of Barangays Curahab and Bunk House in Malabang.
Lumawag identified the seven suspects arrested during the operation as Alican Sarip, Tataw Sarip, Taop Rauf, Jojo Maruhom, Naim Abdul, Ryan Sarip and Faisal Dima.
There are Maranao families in both barangays locked in bloody “rido,” a generic term for clan wars in most southern languages.
The joint police-Marine operations that resulted in the seizure of the firearms and explosives were premised on tips by vigilant Malabang residents who noticed the presence of the armed men in their neighborhood.
Lumawag said he is grateful to the Malabang municipal peace and order council, led by Mayor Tomas Macapodi, for helping carry out the raids that resulted in the confiscation of the firearms and the arrest of owners.
“The Malabang municipal police and the Marines alone cannot function efficiently without the support of the Malabang local government unit,” Lumawag said
Brig. Gen. Eden Ugale, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said Thursday he has directed the Malabang police to prosecute the owners of the firearms and explosives to the fullest extent of law. (John Felix Unson)