CIDG nabs man for gun possession in Zamboanga del Sur town

Inquirer files

PAGADIAN CITY, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR, Philippines — A man who has links to an alleged private armed group associated with a local politician was arrested on Friday in Bayog town, Zamboanga del Sur.

The suspect, identified as Junrell Bacalso, was arrested after authorities, led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), found unlicensed firearms in the course of implementing a search warrant on two residential properties in Barangay Liba of Bayog town.

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Law enforcers found an M16A1 rifle, a caliber .45 Colt pistol, various magazines and live ammunition, and a fragmentation grenade.

The suspect, along with the confiscated items, was held at the CIDG-Zamboanga del Sur office for documentation while charges are being prepared against him.

Bacalso was identified as one of the victims in a shooting incident last March 1 in Barangay Bantal, also of Bayog town.