CAMP NAKAR, Lucena City – Some 138 sacks of explosive materials loaded in a mini-truck were seized by joint elements of the 2nd Infantry Division (2ID) of Army, the Roxas Municipal Police and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Dangay Port, Roxas City, in Oriental Mindoro, authorities reported Saturday.

Colonel Generoso Bolina, Southern Luzon Command (SolCom) spokesman, said the explosive materials were found in between empty fish boxes loaded in a Mitsubishi Forward truck during an ocular inspection aided by a K9 unit of the PCG.

The truck was inspected prior to boarding the Roll-On Roll-Off (RORO) vessel, “M/V Maharlika 7” which was bound for Caticlan, Aklan, around 10 p.m. last Tuesday.

The said explosives, weighing 3,136 pounds, were enough to blow up a 10-storey building, Bolina said.

Bolina said that the explosive materials included ammonium nitrate granules, a chemical substance being used for fertilizer but is also prohibited since it is a primary ingredient for the production of improvised explosive devise (IED).

The truck driver as Willy Basanes, 48, married, and a resident of Hacienda Fanny, Talisay City, Negros Occidental is being held by police for questioning.