Suspected gun-for-hire nabbed

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - Policemen arrested a suspected gun-for-hire on Saturday and impounded several motorcycles for ownership verification in an ambulant checkpoint in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in a renewed crackdown against unauthorized carrying of guns and to restrain criminals from moving around the province.

The operation, led by Supt. Siegfredo Ramos, deputy commander of the Regional Public Safety Battalion of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police, resulted to the arrest of Asim Edris for illegal possession of firearm.

Policemen who frisked Edris for inspection along a stretch of national highway in Mintex Area in Datu Odin Sinsuat found a Colt .45 caliber pistol hidden underneath the seat of his motorcycle that also had questionable registration papers.

Edris, who introduced himself as a member of the Moro National Liberation Front, could not show any identification card or even a barangay residence certificate, bolstering suspicions he was engaged in criminal activities.

Operatives of the ARMM‘s Traffic Management Group also held more than 50 motorcycles during the five-hour operation, but eventually released them to their owners after having subjected the bikes to extensive ownership scrutiny.

Edris’s motorcycle was impounded to be used as an exhibit against him.

The suspect was immediately clamped down at the nearby detention facility of the Datu Odin Sinsuat municipal police, where he will be held pending the filing of charges against him.