Cop, 3 others nabbed for shabu

Four persons, including a policeman, were nabbed by operatives of the Western Police District (WPD) in an anti-illegal drugs operation in Tondo, Manila last Friday.

The suspects, allegedly the henchmen of a big-time drug pusher operating in Manila, were presented to members of the media yesterday after follow-up operations to arrest their leader proved futile.

WPD director Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong identified the suspects as PO1 Jayrhil Lucena, 25, a member of the PNP Special Action Force based in Bulacan; Virgilio Cruz, 45; Reynaldo Angeles, 47; and Rene Erespe, 28.

Bulaong said the suspects were engaged in the distribution of shabu in Manila, with one Allan Tayag, alias Totong, as their leader. Bulaong added Tayag is the partner of a former drug lord known among drug pushers as "Ric Taga."

Joint elements of the WPD’s District Anti-Illegal Drugs and Special Operations Task Force (DAIDSOTF), District Special Reaction Unit (DSRU) and the District Police Intelligence Unit (DPIU) swooped down on Tayag’s suspected lair at 1018-D Hermosa street, Tondo at about 4 p.m. last Friday following a tip that the elusive drug pusher was in the area.

The operation was covered by a search warrant issued by Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Enrico Lanzanas.

DPIU chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula said the raiding teams surprised the four suspects while in the act of packing shabu. Some 40 grams of shabu were confiscated from the suspects. However, Tayag was not inside the house at the time of the raid, Sapitula said.

Follow-up operations were conducted in various places where Tayag is suspected to be hiding, but the efforts proved futile, according to Sapitula.

Charges of violation of the anti-illegal drugs law were filed against the four suspects, including Tayag.

In a separate operation, a vendor fell into the hands of the police the other night in Intramuros, Manila.

Twenty-five-year-old Abdullah Tanguti, alias Danny Boy, a native of Marawi City and residing in Baseco, Port Area, Intramuros was arrested in a buy-bust operation conducted at around 9:30 p.m. along the Katigbak Parkway.

Tanguti was caught in the act of selling 100 grams of shabu worth P200,000, probers said.

The suspect is now behind bars at the WPD jail. He was charged for violation of Republic Act 9165, also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. – With Edu Punay