ILIGAN CITY -- Three suspected gun-for-hires yielded firearms and explosives during a routine checkpoint inspection here Wednesday, police said.
Senior Insp. James Daleon, Station 4 commander, identified the suspects as Gilbert Pasicolan, 40; Andy Pastoral, 31; and Eleazer Tormon, 42.
Daleon said the three were aboard an ambulance when they were stopped at a joint police-military checkpoint in Barangay Tubod here.
What made the authorities suspicious, Daleon said, was that two of the suspects were in military uniform and the ambulance that carried them did not have any medical personnel on board.
"A legitimate ambulance should have a doctor or a nurse on board," the police official noted.
He added: "Two of the suspects were wearing Army uniforms and claimed to be reservists of the 304th Battalion of the Philippine Army, based on their identification cards."
The police official said the third suspect, Tormon, claimed to be an "Islamic preacher" and a member of an unnamed non-government organization based here.
When authorities searched the vehicle, Daleon said they found "firearms and explosives" that included two .45-caliber pistols and several ammunitions, an M16 rifle with ammunition, and a hand grenade.
Chief Insp. Jovanie Cabosas, Iligan City Police Office public information officer, said a follow-up verification with the military showed the two suspects do not belong to any Army unit.
"They were disowned by the (Army) units they claim to belong. They are neither military personnel nor reservists," Cabosas said.
The three suspects remain in detention pending the filing of appropriate charges against them, Cabosas said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1053938
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