Life term for drug pusher

A Quezon City Regional Trial Court sentenced a man to life imprisonment after the court found him guilty of selling methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) in a buy-bust operation one year ago.

Nilo Meliton, of 13th Avenue, Cubao, Quezon City, was also ordered by the court to pay a fine of P500,000.

In a four-page decision, Judge Jaime Salazar Jr., of Branch 103 said Meliton is guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of violation of Section 5 Article II, R.A. 9165 for selling 0.40 grams of shabu.

PO3 Jerry Sanchez, operative of the Central Police District-Station 7 Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU), said an informant called up their station on July 23, 2002 to inform the police about Meliton’s drug activities.

The team made a plan to conduct a buy-bust operation in coordination with the Presidential Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Posing as a buyer, Sanchez gave the marked money to Meliton, who in turn gave him two plastic sachets of shabu. The police then arrested the accused and brought him to the police station.

The accused, however, denied the charges, saying four armed men in civilian clothes forcibly entered their house and barged into his room without a search warrant.

He also claimed that the police arrested him because of his association with a certain Raul, a known seller of shabu in Cubao.

"With the conflicting versions posted both by the prosecution and defense, and after a careful reflection of the evidence substantiating the same, this court finds the prosecution’s version credible," Judge Salazar ruled.

He explained that the alibi of the defense that the accused was illegally searched does not prevail over his positive identification as a drug pusher.