SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews / 1 Aug) – Raiding cops seized drugs, guns and counterfeit money early morning Thursday from a suspect believed to be involved in different illegal activities in the city.
But only after a shootout with the suspect that lasted 10 minutes. Charles B. Weling, 39, a tanod (village guard) of Barangay Canlanipa, pulled out his caliber .45 pistol and open fired on the arresting cops.
SPO1 Armin Bonilla was hit in the left shoulder and rushed to the Miranda Hospital. Supt. Joseph R. Nohara, city police chief, said Bonilla is in stable condition.
Nohara told reporters that the police conducted a buy-bust operation against Weling. They also searched his house after securing a search warrant from Judge Cesar Bordalba.
Insp. Joel D. Cabanes, who headed the raiding team, said Weling fired several shots at them but they could not fire back because the suspect was holding his two-year-old child, making the latter and his wife as shield.
But he eventually surrendered to the policemen.
The cops found 12 sachets of shabu and drug paraphernalia, 200 pieces of P500 counterfeit money, one KG-9 submachine gun with 26 bullets, one caliber .45 Caspian pistol with nine bullets, one caliber .45 Colt with bullets, one airsoft gun, various ammunitions, 10 cellphones, and cash in different denominations totallingP38,910.
Nohara said Weling was also arrested sometime in 2010 for a robbery case. He is also believed to have been a hired gun and involved in gun running activities.
MindaNews tried to get Weling’s comment but he refused to speak.
Surigao Mayor Ernesto T. Matugas said that this was the 36th raid since Nohara was installed as police chief here last January. The mayor said he instructed Nohara to crack down on criminal activities, especially those involving drugs.
