TAIPEI: Authorities in the Philippines raided an apartment rented by a Taiwanese national and suspected gang leader, and seized a weapons cache of over 80 firearms in Manila this week.
The Philippines’ Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CDIG) issued a search warrant for the condo as part of a crackdown on unlicensed firearms. The Philippine News agency reported that the search warrant identified Zhang Xiaodong, a Taiwanese man who is suspected of managing a criminal operation that deals in illegal drugs and telecom fraud.
The operation took place in Makati City in Metro. Officers seized a total of 84 weapons, including 65 handguns, 13 rifles, and six sub-machine guns along with various firearm accessories.
Zhang and two other Taiwanese suspects are currently fugitives being sought by the CIDG. It is believed they are still in the Philippines.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Manila reportedly helped local authorities with their investigation.
The apartment was identified thanks to the efforts of officers involved in a previous raid on the criminal group on March 1. In that raid, four other Taiwanese members of the gang were arrested, reported Philstar Global.
One of the gang members who was arrested earlier this month, Chen Chien-ning, has been on the run from Taiwanese authorities for 23 years. He was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2001 for the crime of kidnapping, but escaped to the Philippines, where he continued to engage in criminal activity, reported TVBS.
After negotiations between Taiwan and the Philippines, Chen was deported to Taiwan to likely serve out his previous sentence and face trial for new charges.
As for the suspects who are still evading the law, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. called their presence in the Philippines a “serious security threat.” He also indicated that officers were tracking their whereabouts and that he expected them to be apprehended and deported very soon.
