ILLEGAL FIREARMS. Three of the four arrested suspects and firearms (inset) seized from a suspected gunrunning group after an anti-illegal firearms operation of the CIDG-BARMM in Talayan, Maguindanao del Sur on Thursday (April 25, 2024). The leader of the group, an MILF field commander, was slain in the brief shootout. (Photo from CIDG-BARMM)
TALAYAN, Maguindanao Sur – Police authorities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) neutralized a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) field commander and arrested four others during an anti-gunrunning operation here on Thursday afternoon.
In a report Friday, Lt. Col. Ariel Huesca, regional chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG-BARMM), identified the slain suspected gunrunner as Zaldy Usman of Barangay Tambunan in this town.
“Usman’s group (was) about to deal high-powered firearms to a poseur-buyer when (one) of them sensed they were being watched and opened fire on lawmen nearby, triggering a brief firefight near a gasoline station,” he said.
Huesca said Usman, 52, is a battalion commander of the Inner Armed Based Command of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the armed wing of the MILF.
Arrested were the injured Ibrahim Temanong Satogan, 26, a member of MILF 28th brigade; Basir Baliwan, 37; Ismael Cabagani, an MILF training instructor; and Ari Butuan, 43, all from Talitay town, Maguindanao del Sur.
CIDG operatives, backed by military and local police personnel, also seized four firearms, comprising two M16 rifles, a .45-caliber pistol, and a .30-caliber light machinegun, as well as ammunition, mobile phones, and boodle money.
Currently detained at the CIDG detention facility, the suspects are facing charges of violation of RA 10591 or illegal possession of firearms and explosives. (PNA)
