BY CALVIN CORDOVA
CEBU CITY – At least 20 homemade firearms were seized from a man described by police as a notorious gunrunner in Danao City, northern Cebu.
Ahmed Martel was arrested in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Guinsay, Danao last Thursday night, said Police Maj. Theresa Macatangay, chief of the Danao City police.
Seized from the suspect were 15 9mm pistols, two shotguns, two .38-caliber revolvers, and one .45-caliber pistol.
The seized firearms were worth P158,000, Macatangay said.
Police found out that six of the 9mm pistols bore serial numbers that were copied from licensed firearms owned by a security agency in Koronadal City in Mindanao.
“Copying serial numbers is an illegal practice meant to save on the cost for applying gun licenses. We will run after these security agencies involved in this kind of modus,” said Police Brig. Gen. Albert Ignatius Ferro, chief of the Police Regional Office Central Visayas.
Ferro said they have been receiving reports that some security agencies are using “paltik” firearms with serial numbers assigned to licensed firearms.
