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By BEN SERRANO,
Correspondent

BUTUAN City — Eleven sacks of pulverized high-grade gold ore worth millions of pesos were allegedly stolen from Philsaga Mining Corporation in Agusan del Sur earlier this week but were later recovered after a joint effort of the Bunawan Municipal Police Office and soldiers from the 26th Infantry Battalion on Wednesday.

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Immediately after receiving the call, operatives quickly responded and established checkpoints along strategic locations heading in and out of the province along the provincial roads in Purok 7, Sitio Kalingayan, Barangay Consuelo and Bunawan, Agusan del Sur.

While on the lookout for the stolen high-grade gold ore, a suspicious vehicle caught the attention of the operatives manning the checkpoint that prompted them to flag down a certain Hyundai Galloper bearing plate number KGA 435 driven by Philip Abulog Ocite with passengers Jose Basalan Cadlum, Roy Ma-cantan Debisme, Jess Peres Gonzales all of legal age and residents of Purok-Talisay, Barangay Anoling, Rosario, Agusan del Sur at around 3:00 pm, same day.

Police authorities were able to recover a .45 caliber pistol with serial number 032371 and loaded with five live bullets from one Manuel Nesperos, 36 a resident of Purok 9 Ebro, Bayugan 2, San Francisco, Agusan del Sur.

The suspects, vehicle and recovered items are now under the custody of Bunawan police for proper disposition while the confiscated firearm was sent to the Regional Crime Laboratory Office of PNP-Caraga for ballistics examination.

Theft of gold ore and other mineral ore from Caraga Region have been reportedly rampant over the years by syndicates operating in the region in collusion with government authorities and even in connivance with insiders of the mining firms.

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