CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — Police arrested 13 high-profile fugitives, including two of Central Luzon’s most wanted persons, along with six drug suspects and a firearm dealer in a series of operations across Pampanga, the Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) said.

Joint teams from San Fernando City Police Station, Regional Mobile Force Battalion 3, Regional Special Operations Group-Regional Intelligence Division 3, and Minalin Municipal Police Station apprehended the region’s Rank 4 and Rank 9 most wanted persons, who are facing charges of murder and statutory rape, on 1 May.

Separate manhunt operations conducted the same day by police units in Bacolor, Sasmuan, Arayat, Apalit, Mabalacat, Guagua, Lubao and Masantol led to the arrest of six of the province’s top 10 most wanted persons, along with other municipal-level fugitives. The suspects face charges ranging from rape and acts of lasciviousness to attempted murder and illegal recruitment.

In separate anti-drug operations, police units from Sta. Ana, Candaba, San Simon, Mexico and Masantol seized a total of 9.54 grams of shabu valued at P64,872.

Meanwhile, a buy-bust operation targeting loose firearms by the 2nd Pampanga Mobile Force Company resulted in the arrest of one suspect and the confiscation of two .38-caliber revolvers and an additional gram of shabu worth P6,800.

Pampanga Police Provincial Office Director Col. Eugene M. Marcelo said authorities continue to sustain operational intensity to ensure long-term peace and order in the province.

Central Luzon police director Brig. Gen. Jess Mendez lauded the operations, saying they reflect the police force’s continuing efforts to curb criminality and maintain public safety.