Port police nab 3 suspected drug pushers

CEBU, Philippines - Four suspected drug pushers, including three from Bohol, were arrested for possession of at least P500,000 worth of shabu.

The suspects were identified as Joselito Ras, 45; Francisco Lalimbat, 31; and Sisinio Ampong, 37, all residents of Trinidad, Bohol. They were arrested at Pier 3 in Cebu City yesterday while on their way to board a vessel bound for Bohol.

The fourth suspect was Rolando Mendo alias Andoy, 28. He was arrested during a saturation drive conducted by the elements of police station 2 in Barangay Camputhaw.

Ras, Lalimbat, and Ampong  were arrested by the Cebu port police while on their way to board a vessel bound for Bohol.

Supt. Joshua Pantoja, chief of the Port Police, a security guard noticed something bulging in the pocket of Ras prompting the guard to check it.

Upon x-ray the guard found out that the “bulging” object in Ras' pocket was actually packs of suspected shabu. The suspect was immediately placed under arrest.

Port police operatives also went after his two companions who went ahead of him.

Ras, in an interview, did not deny the confiscated substance. In fact, he confessed having purchased it in Talisay City. Ras said he intends to sell the illegal drugs during the towns' fiesta in Bohol.

He admitted to have supposedly earned P400,000 out of the drugs he was trying to sneak in to Bohol. But Cebu City Intelligence Branch Chief Insp. Romeo Santander estimated the drugs to be worth over half a million pesos.

Meanwhile, Mendo was caught in possession of 11 packs of shabu worth P2,600 during a saturation drive in Purok 8, Barangay Camputhaw. Station 2 chief Renerio Agustin said Mendo was in a group of people who scampered upon seeing the presence of the police.

Agustin said they were able to get hold of the suspect and was found to be in possession of several packs of shabu. Mendo is now detained at the police station 2 while pending the filing of the criminal complaint before the prosecutor's office. — Niña G.Sumacot and Lesley Caminade-Vestil of Banat News/FPL (FREEMAN)