Driver links slain shooter to gun syndicate

MANILA, Philippines - The driver of slain Philippine practical shooting team member Michael Lontoc is singing like a canary, a source said yesterday.

Louie Alejo is revealing what he knows about the alleged gun smuggling activities of Lontoc and his contacts in the gun industry, an official said.

“He is cooperating fully in our effort to dig deeper into the international gun smuggling syndicate operating in the country,” said the source, who added that military and police investigators are validating Alejo’s statements.

The source claimed that Lontoc would sometimes ask Alejo to drive vehicles “loaded with firearms” to a destination.

“They were working discreetly. There are several instances that my boss would rent a vehicle and hire a driver to drive the contraband to its destination,” the source quoted Alejo as saying. “This process kept the gun smuggling syndicate away from the probing eyes of local law enforcement agencies.”

Alejo was taken into custody of the Philippine National Police last Nov. 1 and since then, police and military investigators have taken turns in questioning him.

The source said once Alejo’s statements are proven to be true, the military and police operatives will conduct successive raids to dismantle the international gun smuggling syndicate believed to be behind Lontoc’s death.

The same source, who requested anonymity, claimed Alejo named several law enforcement agents as “associates” of Lontoc in his gun dealing business.

Police Officer 2 Cris Agustin, the victim’s shooting buddy and close friend, recommended Alejo as Lontoc’s driver, the source added.

However, Alejo was conspicuously absent when four armed men gunned down Lontoc in Malabon last Sept. 25. The source failed to say what reason Alejo raised for his absence on that day.

Agustin was given by the Special Investigation Task Group Lontoc up to today to shed light on the killing of his shooting buddy.