MANILA: The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it has confiscated more than 3,300 loose firearms across the country and dismantled 18 criminal groups in operations from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2 this year. In a press briefing at Camp Crame, Quezon City, PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said these operations also resulted in the arrest of 709 persons and the recovery, surrender, or confiscation of 3,384 firearms in violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act. He added that 39 operations also resulted in the arrest of 47 members of crime syndicates and the surrender of nine others. These operations also resulted in the filing of 30 cases in court, Acorda said. 'Following the successful police operation against the Concepcion Criminal Group and the recent encounter with the Ampoan Group, these accomplishments further solidify the PNP's strong determination to effectively combat and dismantle criminal groups involved in different criminal activities within the country,' he said. In the campaign against illegal drugs, Acorda said 3,993 operations resulted in the arrest of 4,823 drug personalities and the confiscation of illegal drugs valued at PHP 359 million while the campaign against most wanted persons led to the arrest of 6,069 individuals. In the fight against insurgency, he said 21 persons were arrested, 269 surrendered, and eight were neutralized in police operations. He said the Anti-Cybercrime Group served a warrant to search, seize, and examine computer data, conducted 21 warrant arrests, 12 entrapment operations and also provided technical assistance to other PNP units. Acorda also reported that the country's index crimes dropped by nearly 28 percent as compared to figures from the same period last year. Citing latest data, Acorda said 2,580 index crimes were logged from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2 this year, from 3,573 incidents last year. Index or focus crimes are considered serious crimes while non-index crimes are violations of local ordinances and law s and road crashes. The eight focus crimes or index crimes include theft, physical injury, rape, robbery, murder, homicide, motorcycle theft and vehicle theft. Source: Philippines News Agency
