• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Three separate police operations led to the arrest of two of the region’s most wanted persons and the recovery of suspected illegal drugs and an unlicensed firearm over the weekend, the Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) reported.
A gun-for-hire suspect, who is number five in the list of most wanted persons, was arrested by the police at the Yolanda Housing in Barangay E. Lopez, Silay City, Negros Occidental on July 4.
The suspect, identified only by the alias “Al,” 47, was served a warrant of arrest for murder.
He was alleged to have been involved in a drug-related shooting incident in Silay City in 2024 and was believed to be operating as a gun-for-hire.
Police records also showed that he had been arrested in Victorias City in 2022 for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Authorities arrested the regional number one most wanted person during a separate manhunt operation at Villa Caridad Subdivision in Barangay III, La Carlota City also on July 4.
The suspect, identified only as alias “Mar,” 20, was arrested based on a warrant of arrest for six counts of rape with no bail recommended.
Police investigation showed the suspect had repeatedly molested his minor girlfriend at his residence, resulting in her pregnancy.
Meanwhile, the police arrested a 43-year-old man during the implementation of a search warrant in Purok 6, Barangay Combado, Bacong, Negros Oriental.
The operation, conducted by the Bacong Municipal Police Station with assistance from the Provincial Intelligence Unit and the 5th Maneuver Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion, stemmed from a complaint alleging that the suspect had threatened another man with a firearm during a rooster-matching activity.
Authorities recovered 23 sachets containing suspected shabu, a digital weighing scale, cash amounting to P386, a 9mm revolver, three caliber .45 live ammunition, and seven 9mm live ammunition. | GPB
