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Man with gun nabbed at Maguindanao checkpoint

By Edwin Fernandez

November 22, 2019, 6:26 pm

<p><strong>COLLARED.</strong> Soldiers present suspect Zaidbunan Esmael of Barangay Tambunan, Talayan, Maguindanao province who was caught with a handgun at an Army checkpoint in adjacent Talitay town on Thursday (Nov. 21, 2019). Confiscated from the suspect were a .45-caliber pistol and two magazines with 16 rounds of live ammunition. <em>(Photo courtesy of 6ID)</em></p>

COLLARED. Soldiers present suspect Zaidbunan Esmael of Barangay Tambunan, Talayan, Maguindanao province who was caught with a handgun at an Army checkpoint in adjacent Talitay town on Thursday (Nov. 21, 2019). Confiscated from the suspect were a .45-caliber pistol and two magazines with 16 rounds of live ammunition. (Photo courtesy of 6ID)

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao -- Military personnel manning a checkpoint arrested a man with a loaded gun in Talitay, Maguindanao on Thursday.

Personnel of the Army’s 90th Infantry Battalion were manning a checkpoint along the highway in Barangay Kiladap, Talitay, when they chanced upon the suspect, identified as Zaidbunan Esmael, of neighboring Barangay Tambunan, Talayan town.

Esmael was caught with a .45-caliber pistol and two magazines with 16 rounds of live ammunition, the 6th Infantry Division (6ID) said in a media statement.

Esmael was uneasy when the soldier asked him to open his motorbike’s utility box, which made the Army officers even more suspicious, the 6ID said.

Only last week, two men riding a motorcycle were also arrested after they were caught carrying a loaded handgun at the same checkpoint.

Maj. Gen. Diosdado C. Carreon, 6ID commander and concurrent head of Joint Task Force Central, said strict security measures would always be implemented in Central Mindanao as part of the implementation of martial law.

“As a reminder, individuals bringing firearms illegally possessed and without proper documentation are subject to possible criminal charges,” Carreon added.

The suspect is detained at the Talitay municipal police station for investigation and filing of proper criminal charges. (PNA)

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