Drugs, firearms seized in North Cotabato village exec’s home

MIDSAYAP, North Cotabato—Joint police and military forces seized illegal drugs and high powered firearms in the house of a village official here during a raid conducted on Thursday, the police said on Friday.

But Supt. Bernard Tayong, chief of the Midsayap police, said operatives failed to arrest Barangay Lumupog chair Renz Tukuran, who managed to escape before the raid.

Tukuran, alias “Datu Puti,” was one of the suspected drug lords operating in the borders of North Cotabato and Maguindanao, Tayong said.

He said the court-backed raid was conducted on Tukuran by operatives of the local police, military, antinarcotics units and the Anti-Illegal Drug Special Operations Task Group.

Tayong said seized from Tukuran’s home were a .30-cal. and a .50-cal. machine gun, five M-1 Garand rifles, an M-14 Armalite rifle, a rocket propelled grenade launcher, two 60-mm mortars, six hand grenades, a rifle grenade, three M-203 launchers, ammunition and bomb-making devices.

The raiding team also seized several sachets of methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” from Tukuran’s home, the total volume of which had not been divulged yet.