ZAMBOANGA CITY (December 10, 2009) – Government troops in search for more firearms  of the Ampatuans have found  another cache of high-powered firearms and ammunition Wednesday hidden inside a warehouse at barangay San Sebastian in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.

The finds include shoulder-fire 57 and 90 recoilless rifle (RR) projectiles that can stop tanks and armored personnel carriers and an estimated half a million pesos worth of live mortar rounds hidden inside a warehouse owned by the Ampatuans, Maj. Gen. Anthony Alcantara, 6th Infantry Division chief, said.

Alcantara said government troops raided the warehouse located at the San Sebastian area in Shariff Aguak after receiving a tip from a civilian.

"A civilian [informed] us about the  firearms hidden in that warehouse and we raided the warehouse,” Alcantara said.

He said the raiding soldiers had to tear down a portion of the facility’s concrete wall to enable them to approach and inspect the building.

Alcantara said the mortar rounds and shoulder-fire 57 and 90 RR projectiles were still intact in their sealed containers, neatly piled on one side of the warehouse along with several vehicles owned by the Ampatuans.

Alcantara said Army ordnance operatives, backed by a canine unit using dogs trained to detect hidden explosives and firearms, have been scouring several areas in Shariff Aguak and surrounding towns.

Since Martial Law was declared in Maguindanao, state forces have been searching Shariff Aguak and nearby towns trying to find the hidden Ampatuan armaments.

About 700 firearms owned by the Ampatuans are now under the police and military custody in Shariff Aguak.