Cops recover cache of explosives in Dinagat

 From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 2, 2023): Cops recover cache of explosives in Dinagat (By Alexander Lopez)

RECOVERED. Two hand grenades and 15 rifle grenade projectiles are retrieved by the Dinagat Islands Police Provincial Office (DIPPO) in Barangay Luna, San Jose, Dinagat Islands on Thursday (Feb. 2, 2022). An investigation is underway to determine those behind the concealment of the explosives. (Photo courtesy of DIPPO)

BUTUAN CITY – Police operatives in Dinagat Islands recovered a cache of explosives in San Jose town on Thursday.

Lt. Col. Renel Serrano, chief of Dinagat’s Provincial Investigation and Detection Management Unit, said a team from the Provincial Tactical Operation Center discovered two hand grenades and 15 rifle grenade projectiles near a racetrack in Barangay Luna.

“The explosives were buried at the end portion of the racetrack beside the river. The soil that covered the buried items was washed away during the recent rains and floods and exposed the explosives," Serrano said.

Dinagat Islands Police Provincial Office (DIPPO) Director Col. Ariel Red immediately ordered an investigation to identify those responsible for the concealment of the explosives.

“Based on our initial investigation, these explosives were deliberately hidden as the DIPPO intensified its campaigns against loose firearms in the province,” he said.

The recovered explosives are now under the custody of the DIPPO explosives and ordnance division.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1194237