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John Unson - Philstar.com
November 2, 2026 | 6:12pm
Police are now in custody of the vehicle, an M16 rifle and a .45-caliber pistol seized from two alleged illegal gun dealers during an entrapment operation in Kabacan, Cotabato, on Nov. 2, 2026.
Photo courtesy of Philstar.com / John Unson
COTABATO CITY — Police arrested two alleged illegal gun dealers, both reportedly linked to remnants of the defunct Dawlah Islamiya, during an entrapment operation along a highway in Barangay Kayaga in Kabacan town, Cotabato on Monday, November 2.
Local executives and traditional Moro leaders who supported the operation said one of the suspects was wounded in a brief gunfight he allegedly instigated after learning that he and his companion had sold an M16 assault rifle to undercover agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and operatives from different police units during a transaction in Barangay Kayaga.
The wounded Datu Masla Masukat Maguid was immediately taken to a hospital by emergency responders for treatment.
Agents of the CIDG, backed by personnel from units of the Cotabato Provincial Police Office, were about to arrest him and his cohort, Allan Buday Makalugi, after the two allegedly sold them an M16 combat rifle. However, Maguid resisted and pulled out a .45 caliber pistol, triggering a gunfight that left him wounded.
Maguid is wanted in connection with several high-profile criminal cases, including destructive arson, robbery, extortion, multiple counts of attempted murder and drug trafficking, which are pending before different courts in Cotabato province and its capital, Kidapawan City.
He was also charged before a court in Region 12 with violation of Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 over his alleged involvement in terror attacks as a former member of the now-defunct Dawlah Islamiya.
CIDG officials in Region 12 and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao separately told reporters that the entrapment operation, which led to the arrest of Maguid and Makalugi and the confiscation of a .45 caliber pistol and an M16 assault rifle, was planned with the assistance of barangay officials in Kabacan and the neighboring towns of Pagalungan and Montawal in Maguindanao del Sur.
CIDG agents also impounded the suspects' green Suzuki mini wagon, bearing license plate number MBG 9881, which they used to transport firearms to buyers in the adjoining provinces of Maguindanao del Sur and Cotabato.
