Man gets 12 years for illegal drugs

CEBU, Philippines - A man was sentenced to twelve to fourteen years in prison after he was arrested for possession of shabu.

The Regional Trial Court, Branch 13 judge Meinrado Paredes found Neil Nichlaus Herrera, 28, guilty of violating Section 11, Article 2 of Republic Act 9165 and also ordered him to pay a fine of P400,000.

According to court records, Herrera, a resident of barangay Kamagayan, Cebu City, was arrested when a certain Rizaldy Esplanada voluntarily pointed him out as the one who sold him a counterfeit P500 bill.

On November 10, 2005, around 2:30 p.m. Esplanada was arrested by four policemen for violating Article 168 of the Revised Penal Code or the possession of counterfeit money.

Herrera was frisked and found with two packets of shabu.

The suspect pleaded not guilty to the charges claiming he was only cleaning a house for rent when the police immediately entered the house and arrested him but the court favored the testimony of the arresting police officers. — Angelica Odias and Iris Christine Cornito, UP Masscom intern/BRP (THE FREEMAN)