A TOTAL of 137 law offenders were arrested while nearly P2 million worth of crime evidence were seized by agents of the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group on Tuesday as it continued its stepped-up anti-criminality drive on orders of new PNP chief, General Benjamin C. Acorda Jr., the Journal Group learned yesterday.

PNP-CIDG director, Brigadier Gen. Romeo M. Caramat Jr. said that they conducted 128 anti-crime operations across the country a day after Gen. Acorda took over as the 29th PNP chief leading to the arrest of 137 suspects and the confiscation of some P1.937 million worth of evidence.

“We are going all-out versus criminality to account for all wanted persons and suppress all illegal activities that threaten the country’s peace and security,” the official said.

Brig. Gen. Caramat said that on Tuesday, his men conducted 98 manhunt operations nationwide under their Oplan: Pagtugis leading in the capture of 33 Most Wanted Persons or MWPs, 13 of them classified as Regional MWPs, 10 Provincial MWPS and 10 Municipal MWPs.

The 65 others were classified as Other Wanted Persons.

Among those arrested by the PNP-CIDG were Ronald Seguros, a former New People’s Army squad leader in Caraga region tagged as the 2nd most wanted person in Region 13 who is facing criminal charges for multiple attempted murder and robbery-in-band; Danny Lopez, the 4th most wanted man in Caraga region facing a non-bailable statutory rape case; and Isagani Naldo, the 5th most wanted person in Region 12 who is also facing a statutory rape case with no bail recommended by the court.

Also arrested by the PNP-CIDG on the same day was Louisito Sanchez, a suspected leader of a gunrunning syndicate in Tanza, Cavite. The suspect yielded a caliber .45 pistol, one 9mm pistol and two magazines with 19 live ammunition.

Brig. Gen. Caramat said that his men raided the suspect’s house in Barangay Daang Amaya 1 in Tanza municipality on the strength of a search warrant for violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulations Act of 2013 issued by Judge Agripino Bravo of the Lucena City RTC Branch 55.

A 2nd raid in Bgy. San Francisco in General Trias City in Cavite led in the arrest of Rhoderick Lagamson who yielded a .45 pistol, a 9mm barrel, two magazines and 115 rounds of live ammunition.

He said that they also accounted for a total of 21 illegal firearms and two explosives as they intensified their effort to account for unauthorized weapons that could be used to commit violence in the streets.

The official said the day also saw the arrest of seven men involved in smuggling, manufacturing, distribution and trading of counterfeit items.

On Monday, the PNP-CIDG also arrested 26 lawbreakers including a Regional MWP and 17 Other Wanted Persons.

The arrested suspects include Sargen Parientes, the 4th most wanted person in Region 8 where he is facing a non-bailable case for two counts of statutory rape; and Russel Cabral, the accused leader of the Eastside Command Criminal Group wanted for an attempted homicide case with no bail recommended.