TACLOBAN CITY — A member of Calbayog City-based private armed group was killed in a foiled attempt to sell a high-powered gun before dawn on Saturday, 11 January in East Awang village of Calbayog.

Ricardo Dealagdon, a member of gun-for-hire Wahingon Criminal Group and number one in the regional priority target list of Philippine National Police, was killed when his group figured in a shootout with policemen who were conducting the entrapment operation.

A civilian and two policemen were also injured and were brought to the hospital for treatment. Five members of the criminal syndicate were arrested and locked at the Calbayog City Police Station.

The joint team of Calbayog City Police Station, provincial drug enforcement unit, First Samar Provincial Mobile Force Company, and Special Action Force conducted the entrapment operation to arrest members of a gunrunning group at around 2:30 early morning.

The designated poseur buyer was able to purchase one KG9 sub-machine gun worth P22,000. After the sale was successfully made, he made a signal to the members of the team prompting them to rush towards the suspects to make the arrest.

The suspects noticed the approaching police officers and immediately ran towards the house of suspect Dealagdon to take refuge and fired towards the operating team.

Members of the operating team pursued the arrest but the suspects open fired at them prompting the policemen to fire back.

Dealagdon and his group were previously implicated in a number of murder cases attributed to private armed groups.

Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan previously offered P100,000 bounty for the arrest of each of the nine suspects in the massacre of five people in Barangay Victory in Calbayog City last 15 September. Dealagdon was among the nine suspects of the massacre.