QCPD recovers 29 guns with same serial numbers

MANILA, Philippines - The seizure of several guns with the same serial numbers by the Quezon City police in the past six months indicates the increasing problem of loose firearms despite the sustained anti-crime campaign of the Duterte administration.

Data analyzed by The STAR showed 29 of the 300 guns seized by the police in several anti-drug operations since July 1, 2016 have identical serial numbers.

The 29 guns with identical serial numbers were among the total of 57 firearms recovered in 26 encounters between police and crime suspects.

There were 55 suspects killed, or “neutralized” as per standard police term, during the operations from which the guns with the same serial numbers were recovered.

For context, there have been 175 armed encounters from July 1, 2016 to Jan. 6 this year, where a total of 268 persons were killed.

Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar said the figures highlight the unaddressed problem of the unregulated firearms trade in light of the administration’s brutal war against illegal drugs.

Out of the 26 alleged gunfights, almost all of the firearms with identical serial numbers were recovered from police operations over drug-related offenses.

Only four cases can be considered non-drug related incidents, as two were follow-up operations to robbery, one involving checkpoint operations and another the implementation of an arrest warrant.

Of these alleged armed encounters, 10 firefights were recorded in the Batasan police precinct, four with the Novaliches police, three each with La Loma and Masambong police, two with the QCPD Anti-Carnapping Unit, and one each with Talipapa, Kamuning, the QCPD Special Operating Unit, and the Cubao police precinct, all in Quezon City.

Records showed the firearms recovered in operations were of the same caliber, make and model, either cal. 38 or cal. 45, and often Armscor and Colt.

The recovered firearms were not limited to having “twins,” the street term for firearms with similar serial numbers, as one serial number was seen as many as six times at different crime scenes.

The serial numbers that were found repetitively in recovered various guns in shootouts were: 936185 (six times), 479361, 361852 and 793618 (five times each), 047936, 179361 and 911243 (each found twice).

Official documents included spot reports, public press releases and police blotter entries.  –With Cecille Suerte Felipe