ILOILO – Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Dueñas, Iloilo police station raided the house of the village chief of Barangay Calang, Dueñas, Iloilo, Joewinny Giganto, around 5:30 a.m. yesterday.
They recovered a grenade and a .45-caliber pistol loaded with seven live ammunitions, a police report showed.
The operatives right away arrested the 59-year-old Giganto whom they suspected to be a gunrunner and a leader of a “gun-for-hire” group.
The search warrant was issued by Judge Domingo Casiple of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 68.
According to Police Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), the Giganto Group was “involved in the proliferation of loose firearms and gunrunning activities in the province of Iloilo and nearby provinces.”
After the house raid, Giganto was brought to the CIDG detention cell.
The charges he would be facing were for violation of Republic Act (RA) 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, and violation of RA 9516 (illegal possession of explosives)./PN
