NBI nabs QC man with stash of guns

A man keeping several unlicensed firearms was arrested on Friday by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Novaliches, Quezon City.

The NBI had charged Alex Tanieca with illegal possession of firearms and was also checking whether he was working for a gun-running syndicate or was a contract killer himself who kept quite an arsenal.

When arrested, Tanieca yielded three loaded shotguns, a Carbine rifle, a loaded .45-caliber pistol, two loaded .25-caliber pistols and extra rounds of ammunition at his house in Sitio Looban, Barangay Kaligayahan, according to NBI Deputy Director for Investigation Ruel Lasala.

An NBI team led by Rommel Vallejo of the bureau’s antiorganized crime division earlier placed Tanieca under surveillance after receiving a tip that the suspect had been selling firearms at his house.

Tanieca was also seen often walking in the neighborhood with a gun tucked in his waist and scaring neighbors by firing it without provocation, according to Vallejo.

The NBI team raided the suspect’s house on Friday on a search warrant issued by Judge Marino de la Cruz of the Manila Regional Trial Court.

Tanieca denied any involvement in illegal activities but could not produce licenses for the firearms, Vallejo said. Nancy C. Carvajal