COTABATO CITY—At least five suspected gun-for-hire, including the alleged leader, were arrested in a pre-dawn raid in Kabacan, North Cotabato on Friday, the police reported.
Supt. Bernard Tayong, spokesperson of the North Cotabato police, said the 3:30 a.m. raid in Barangay (village) Lower Paatan in Kabacan was covered by a search warrant and was aimed against the group of Derby Gani.
He said Gani’s gang was the main suspect in the series of bomb attacks against transmission towers of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in North Cotabato and the recent grenade explosions in Kabacan.
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Tayong said that aside from Gani, four gang members were also arrested.
He told the Inquirer that Gani was believed to be responsible in setting off improvised explosive devices on three NGCP towers in Pikit, North Cotabato and Pagalungan in Maguindanao early this year.
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“Our data showed he was a gun-for-hire,” Tayong said, adding that several firearms, grenades and bomb making materials were seized from him.
One of the pistols recovered from him was issued to a police officer in North Cotabato, he said.
Senior Supt. Alexander Tagum, North Cotabato police chief, said the police will continue to hunt down lawless elements in the province. RAM