3 drug suspects yield firearms, explosives

Three men arrested for peddling illegal drugs found themselves in deeper trouble when firearms and explosives were found in their possession during a buy-bust operation in Caloocan City Wednesday night.

Presented before the media yesterday were suspects Reynaldo Arellano, 36; Edward Amida, 21; and Carlos Madulid, 35, a driver-auto mechanic, all from Caloocan City.

Caloocan City police Station Intelligence and Investigation Division (SIID) chief Superintendent Dionicio Borromeo said the suspects were arrested after Arellano, who was with Amida and Madulid, handed a sachet of shabu to a police undercover agent.

The buy-bust operation took place at around 7 p.m., just a few meters away from Arellano’s house where police operatives from Sub-station 4 and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) confiscated four homemade caliber .38 revolvers, two caliber .22 Magnum revolvers and two grenades (MK-2 and M-26).

Borromeo said the seizure of arms cache from the suspects came as a bonus as the lawmen were in the area only to conduct a drug bust.

City police chief Superintendent Benjardi Mantele said he ordered Borromeo to investigate the case further to determine if the suspects were involved in gun-running and robbery-holdup activities.

"With the recovered firearms and explosives, there is a very strong possibility that the suspects could be members of a criminal syndicate involved in various illegal activities," Mantele said.

Detained at the city police headquarters, the suspects are facing charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives and drug pushing.

Meanwhile, a 22-year-old woman, despondent over the loss of a P50,000-necklace she was selling for a friend, allegedly shot herself to death in Valenzuela City, Wednesday afternoon.

Valenzuela police chief Senior Superintendent Leopoldo Urena identified the alleged suicide as Allen Jutis y Flores, single, of 60 First Street, Fortune Village 5, Peso de Blas, Valenzuela. She sustained a gunshot wound in the temple.

Investigation showed that at around 1 p.m., the victim’s body was found lying in a pool of blood in her room by one Delia Imperial.

Found beside her lifeless body was a suicide note which read: "Lost ko ang kuwintas P50,000. ‘Ala ako bayad gani, kabuhi ko na lang (I lost a necklace P50,000. I have nothing to pay for it but only my life)."