P6 million worth of firearms seized from coop office

CEBU, Philippines - Police recovered around 50 assorted firearms and assorted gun paraphernalia from a famous cooperative in Dungoan, Danao City at 11 o’clock yesterday morning.

Superintendent Romano Cardiño, the deputy director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)-7 who led the raid, said the Workers’ League of Danao Multipurpose Cooperative no longer has a permit to operate.

Armed with a search warrant, the troops proceeded to the factory commonly known as World MPC and carried out the raid which CIDG-7 considers to be one of their big operations.

The warrant was issued by Judge Silvestre Maamo of the Regional Trial Court Branch 17.

In a report over TV Patrol Central Visayas, the police arrested 16 employees who were found inside the cooperative’s premises.

They recovered the guns estimated to worth about P1 million. Some spare parts of guns and paraphernalia used in the manufacture of firearms, worth some P5 million, were also seized.

Cardiño said the cooperative, which is a famous gun-manufacturing factory in the barangay and the city, was illegally operating because their permit to operate already expired since December 20 last year.

When they learned that the factory was still manufacturing guns despite the expiration of their permit, they placed it under three months surveillance and secured a search warrant.

The police learned through the course of their surveillance that some of the clients of the cooperative are rebels of the New People’s Army and politicians.

The report further said that the cooperative incurred problems since their president died. Some of the members left the cooperative. They had difficulty renewing their permit but they continued their operation to continue supporting the families of the employees.

Cardiño said they will file charges for illegal manufacturing and illegal possession of firearms against the 16 employees.

Barangay officials witnessed the raid.

Cardiño said they are currently monitoring other gun-manufacturing factories whose permit to operate already expired. — (FREEMAN)