As part of its intensified nationwide campaign against loose firearms and illegal armed activities, the Philippine National Police (PNP) successfully thwarted an alleged gun-running transaction and seized several high-powered loose firearms during an entrapment operation in Barangay Dalumangcob, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte on Friday afternoon, January 16, 2026.
The operation, conducted at around 3:15 PM, targeted a male suspect in his 40s for violation of Republic Act No. 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, in connection with the illegal sale of high-powered firearms.
Joint elements of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit–Regional Special Operations Group as the lead unit, along with personnel from the Regional Intelligence Division, Regional Mobile Force Battalion 14-A, Provincial Intelligence Unit of Maguindanao del Norte, 4th Maneuver Platoon of the 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company, and the Sultan Kudarat Municipal Police Station, carried out the operation following validated intelligence information that the suspect was actively engaged in gun-running activities.
With the assistance of a confidential informant, operatives arranged a buy-bust transaction. During the meeting inside the suspect’s vehicle, police personnel were able to observe several firearms, confirming the illegal activity.
However, the suspect later became suspicious after noticing vehicles in the area that he believed to be police-owned. He immediately abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot toward nearby houses and vegetated areas. A hot pursuit operation was promptly launched, but the suspect managed to evade arrest.
Despite the suspect’s escape, operating troops, in the presence of media representatives and elected barangay officials, conducted a search of the abandoned vehicle. Authorities recovered several high-powered firearms, assorted magazines, live ammunition, a war belt, assorted identification cards, boodle money used in the operation, and the vehicle believed to have been utilized in the illegal firearms transaction.
Police Lieutenant General Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr., Acting PNP Chief, said the successful seizure underscores the PNP’s Focused Agenda on Enhanced Managing of Police Operations through its sustained campaign against loose firearms, particularly in areas vulnerable to armed violence and criminal activities. He added that law enforcement units continue their efforts to identify, locate, and neutralize the suspect, as well as other individuals and groups involved in the illegal firearms trade.
All seized firearms and ammunition were properly inventoried, marked, and tagged at the place of seizure in accordance with existing procedures and in the presence of required witnesses. The confiscated items were forwarded to the Regional Forensic Unit–BARMM for qualitative and quantitative examination.
PNP reiterated its call for public cooperation in the fight against illegal firearms and urged citizens to report any information related to gun-running and other unlawful activities, assuring that all reports will be treated with strict confidentiality. The recent entrapment operation in Maguindanao del Norte highlights the ongoing threat posed by loose firearms and underscores the importance of community support in helping the police prevent violence and criminal incidents, in line with the vision of a safer Bagong Pilipinas.
