Illegal gun dealer killed in shootout with cops

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — An illegal firearms dealer was killed in a shootout with policemen and Marine combatants during an entrapment operation on Thursday, July 17, in Barira, Maguindanao del Norte that turned haywire.

Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, and officials of the 1st Marine Brigade separately told reporters on Saturday that the slain Porok Marandakan Ragundo was also wanted for three different criminal cases pending in different courts in Central Mindanao.

Local officials said Ragundo pulled out a gun and opened fire when he sensed he was to sell firearms to personnel of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in a supposed tradeoff in Barangay Korosoyan in Barira, laid with the support of personnel of the Marine Battalion Landing Team-2.

Agents of CIDG’s regional unit in the Bangsamoro region responded to Ragundo’s provocation, killing him instantly.

CIDG operatives had seized Ragundo’s M16 and M14 assault rifles, and a fragmentation grenade, according to officials of PRO-BAR and the Maguindanao del Norte Provincial Police Office.

De Guzman said they appreciate the support of the 1st Marine Brigade for every police law-enforcement operation in six of the 12 towns in Maguindanao del Norte and in the 37 barangays in Cotabato City that are covered by its three component-battalions, all under the operational control of the Army's 6th Infantry Division.