Supt. Oscar Jalcido, information chief of the PRO-3, also said a total of 915 of the 1,323 “most wanted persons” in the region have remained at large, while 408 of them have been arrested since last January.
In a briefing marking Community Relations Month, Jacildo noted that Nueva Ecija hosted 11 criminal gangs with 94 active members, the biggest in Central Luzon. The province is followed by Tarlac with seven gangs with 31 members, Pampanga with five gangs with 22 members, and Bulacan with two gangs with 10 members. He also cited two more gangs with 22 members being pursued by the regional police. Only nine gang members have been arrested since January, he added.
These gangs are reportedly engaged in assorted crimes ranging from vehicle theft to kidnap-for-ransom.
Jacildo also said that since last January, the police in the region has arrested about 30 percent of a total of 1,323 most wanted persons in Central Luzon. The remaining 915 in the list are still being hunted by the police in various parts of the region.
His report indicated Nueva Ecija again hosted the most number of wanted persons at 330 with 42 arrests, followed by Bulacan with 249 and 94 arrests, Pampanga with 207 and 68 arrests, Tarlac with 142 and 61 arrests, Zambales with 126 and 42 arrests, Bataan with 93 and 38 arrests, Angeles City with 75 and 15 arrests.
Olongapo City with 51 and 21 arrests, and Aurora with 45 and 18 arrests. The report also said that the regional police also list 10 more with two arrests.
Jacildo also reported that since last Jan. 10, a total of 694 persons have been arrested for carrying firearms and other deadly weapons in Central Luzon.
He said the campaign yielded 570 firearms, 191 bladed weapons, 57 firearms replicas, 64 firearms parts, 30 grenades, three explosives, and 7,273 bullets.
