Police and military operatives reported recovering more ammunition for high-powered weapons at the compound of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr.’s mother-in-law in Shariff Aguak last Wednesday. But was something else recovered but not declared?

Sources alleged yesterday that the raiders also found, but did not declare, P120 million in cash stored in cigarette boxes.

The police director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Senior Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, denied last night that cash was found. He said members of the household were present during the raid.

The informants said the cash found in the compound of Samera Nor Santiago were loaded into vehicles of the operatives from Camp Crame and the intelligence unit of the Armed Forces, together with the local police force, before media and the public were allowed access to the area.

The sources said journalists, as standard operating procedure, are only permitted to enter the area of operation once the scene is cleared.

The source added that the operatives divided the P120 million among themselves.

Earlier, there had been reports that huge sums of money were also found in the other mansions of the Ampatuan clan raided by the police.

However, only rifles, machine guns, armored personnel carriers and ammunition were declared.

During last Wednesday’s raid, the police said they dug out several boxes of ammunition for M203 grenade launchers, M16 rifles, light machine guns, seven tripods for caliber 50 machine guns and tripods for 81 mm mortar.

Senior Superintendent Bienvenido Garcia Latag, police director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said a search warrant was presented to the house owners in the presence of acting Mayor Monir Ampatuan Asim Jr. of Shariff Aguak and other government officials before the raid was carried out.

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