KORONADAL CITY, Philippines — Troopers foiled an alleged attempt by two men and a woman to smuggle a grenade and an improvised explosive device (IED) in Banga, South Cotabato on Sunday.
Merlyn Guisan, 42; Ronald Bansil, 27, and Andy Meno, 30, were detained at the Banga municipal police detention jail, according to Col. Jemuel Siason, chief of the South Cotabato police.
The suspects, who were on a motorcycle, were intercepted by personnel of the Army’s 5th Special Forces Battalion at a checkpoint in Barangay Lamba.
During inspection, the soldiers reportedly found in the suspects’ bags a grenade and an IED that could be detonated from a distance with the use of a phone.
The police and the military expressed belief that the suspects were members of the New People’s Army.