CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 10 December) — Over 100 kilos of uranium-238 and uranium-235 were seized in separate operations conducted in Cagayan de Oro, Pasay City and Mandaue City from October to November, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said in a press statement Monday.
In Cagayan de Oro, the raid occurred on the morning of October 28 in Mega Heights Subdivision, a middle-class subdivision in Barangay Gusa, where residents were surprised to see soldiers, men in anti-radiation protective suits and NBI agents swarm into a two-story house.
Barangay Gusa Kagawad Joseph Baltazar said he saw five Americans in camouflage uniform among the raiders who entered the house of Roy Vistal, who is said to be engaged in the illegal trade of depleted uranium, a major ingredient in nuclear bombs.
“I was told to stay away as far as possible from the house because they are after hazardous materials,” Baltazar said.
Soldiers from the 4thInfantry Division Task Force Oro also helped in keeping residents away from Vistal’s house.
The raid was the culmination of a two month-long operation against the syndicate allegedly led by Vistal, his partner, Mae Vergel Zagala alias “Madame Mae” and Arnel Gimpaya Santiago, their agent.
Zagala and Santiago were arrested during the raid in Pasay City on October 18. The NBI also seized 20 kilos of metal bars and 3 kilos of black powder that tested positive for uranium-235 and uranium-238.
The NBI said Vistal’s group offered for sale the radioactive materials to the public by “misrepresenting that the same are precious metals.”
The NBI said the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute alerted them of the group’s illicit trade in the dangerous materials.
The investigation shifted to Mega Heights Subdivision where NBI agents arrested Vistal, who was found to be operating a laundry business from his house.
Barangay Gusa Chairman Marlon Tabac said the NBI agents came to him to check if they had the correct address.
“I called the president of the homeowners of Mega Heights who told them that they had a wrong address,” Tabac said.
After being given the correct address, Tabac said the NBI agents applied for a search warrant from the local regional trial court.
He said the team found that the hazardous materials had already contaminated several parts of the house and family vehicle.
After learning that the group got the materials from Cebu, NBI Director Jaime Santiago said their agents conducted another search operation in Mandaue City on November 8 and 9 and seized 60 kilos of block metals that tested positive for uranium-238 and uranium-235.
Director Santiago said the three suspects were presented for inquest at the Department of Justice for violating Republic Act no. 5207 or ”the Atomic Energy Regulatory and Liability Act of 1968”. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)
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