Explosive materials seized in Zamboanga City
A HUGE volume of explosive materials on Saturday was seized by the police during an anti-criminality operation in Zamboanga City, Police Regional Office 9 director Brig. Gen. Bowenn Joey M. Masauding said yesterday.
The recovered contraband in Bgy. Mariki, Zamboanga City include 47 bottles containing ammonium nitrate, a six-meter long safety fuse and 50 pieces of non-electric blasting caps, the PRO9 director said.
According to the official, prior to the recovery of the explosive materials, members of the 1st Mobile Force Company of the Zamboanga City Police Station an the Naval Intelligence Security Group-Western Mindanao conducted a surveillance operation along the high seas of Bgy. Mariki regarding the reported presence of a group of boat-riding men carrying explosives.
The lawmen later spotted two small boats and tried to approach their occupants for verification. However, occupants of one of the boats sped up and managed to escape towards a nearby mangrove area.
The persons riding the second boat abandoned it. Members of the Zamboanga City Police Station 8 and their Explosives Ordnance and Disposal Team later retrieved the explosive contents of the boat.
The boat and the explosive materials were turned over to the Zamboanga City EOD/K-9 Unit.
Masauding commended the local police and military operatives for their latest successful operation against illegal traffickers of explosives in Western Mindanao.
