MANILA, Philippines?Seventeen loose firearms and half a kilo of marijuana were seized by police in middle-of-the night raids on various poor neighborhoods in Quezon City late Friday and early Saturday. Nine of at least 62 people hauled off to a police station were detained.

Operatives of the Quezon City Police District also confiscated drug paraphernalia in the raids in three barangays near the Batasan police station, said Supt. Constante Agpaoa.

The round-up, dubbed Oplan Galugad, was conducted in the villages of Commonwealth, Batasan and Holy Spirit, particularly in the slum areas of Freedom Park, Riveside, Martan, San Simon, and Republic Saringan.

?This is part of our anti-criminality campaign," said Senior Supt. Audie Arroyo, deputy district director for operations.

Arroyo said they rounded up 62 persons aged 25 and up for questioning, and nine were held in detention after they were allegedly found to have firearms and illegal drugs in their possession.

Of the nine persons, seven were arrested for drug possession while two were arrested for illegal possession of firearms.

?Their initial violations were related to a city ordinance on vagrancy and drinking liquor on the streets. The 62 men brought to the station were released after they were found to have no criminal records,? Agpaoa added.

The seized firearms included 12 improvised shotguns, five cal .38 revolvers and one 12 gauge shotgun.

The detained suspects were identified as Leonardo Gacia, Ervin Santos, Elmer Loyola, Bugan Gacuscus, Arnold Ebit, Reynaldo Garcia, Aldrin Bulan, Salardin Macaranpat and Alex Macarot.

?A number of the firearms were left behind in parked vehicles by their holders who had scampered when the police arrived," Agpaoa said, adding they also recovered drug paraphernalia, including aluminum foil and lighters.

The saturation drive began at around 10 p.m. Friday and lasted until 1 a.m. Saturday.
Arroyo said the simultaneous operations were conducted by operatives from the Batasan police station, the District Police Intelligence Operations Unit, the District Mobile Group and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit.

QCPD director Chief Superintendent Elmo San Diego said the drive was part of their anti-criminality measures in anticipation of the expected upsurge of theft and robbery cases and other crimes with the coming of the Christmas season.