Police are now hunting down a man after 24 unlicensed firearms were seized in his house in Malabon City last Friday.
Chief Supt. Rolando Anduyan, Northern Police District director, identified the suspect as a certain Ivan Ong Lee, of Sampaguita St., Araneta Village, Barangay Potrero.
Lee was charged for violating Republic Acct 10591 or the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.
Elements of the Station Intelligence Branch, Special Reaction Unit, and Police Community Precinct 2 raided Lee’s house on the strength of a search warrant issued by Judge Rhoda Magdalene Mapile-Osinada of the Malabon Regional Trial Court Branch 289 Thursday.
The suspect was not present during the search and remains at large.
Eighteen caliber .38 revolvers, two caliber .22 revolvers, four shotguns, and a caliber .45 cartridge were retrieved from Lee’s house.
Emily Lee, the suspect’s mother, said the firearms were for their security agency.
However, she was not able to show any proof of the existence of the security agency, said Director Guillermo Eleazar, National Capital Region Police Office chief.
Follow-up operation is ongoing for the suspect’s arrest.
Eleazar said the raid was part of their conduct of “Oplan: Katok,” in which those who own guns without or with expired licenses can surrender them to the police.
Police will secure search warrants for those who refuse to surrender their firearms, he added.
Eleazar said this is being done to curb election-related violence in Metro Manila. (Minka Klaudia S. Tiangco)