Police seize guns from motorboat

Joint elements of the Daan Bantayan police and the Philippine Coast Guard were able to seize 17 assorted firearms after these were abandoned in a motorboat bound for San Isidro, Leyte, last Saturday morning.

The team led by Daan Bantayan police chief Sr. Insp. Jovito Canlapan earlier received a report that a motorboat about to leave Maya Wharf, Daan Bantayan, for San Isidro had a suspicious plastic nylon bag.

The information came from a certain Roger Valiente, a member of the Philippine Coast Guard stationed in the area.

Valiente together with the police then proceeded to Maya Wharf and immediately inspected the said passenger boat and was able to recover the plastic nylon bag found hidden underneath a seat of the said boat.

The bag contained a cardboard box that held assorted homemade firearms namely six .45 cal. pistols, six .38 cal. revolvers, three five-shot snub-nosed .38 cal. revolvers, a power custom .357 cal. revolver and a black widow revolver.

Canlapan yesterday said that after taking the guns they had no choice but to allow the passenger boat to travel to Leyte since none of the passengers admitted owning the contraband. - Flor Z. Perolina