3 nabbed in drug bust; CPD cops reject bribe

Police arrested three men in a drug-bust and later a businesswoman for attempting to bribe arresting officers into releasing of one of the suspects the other day in Quezon City.

Superintendent Benigno Durana, commander of the Central Police District-Station 7 in Cubao, identified the suspects as Luis Nolasco, 53, of 4th Avenue Cubao; Herminigildo Lumibao, 33, of Barangay Kaunlaran, Cubao; and Arnold Baretto, 34, of Barangay Kaunlaran, Cubao.

Durana also identified the businesswoman as Florida Rodriguez, 40, of 4th Avenue, Cubao.

The buy-bust stemmed from a report received by police that the three men were involved in illegal drug activities along Natib street in Barangay Kaunlaran.

Chief Inspector Warren Tolito, head of the CPD station’s anti-illegal drugs special operations team, organized and dispatched a team to verify the information. The team later managed to strike a deal with Nolasco for the purchase of P500 worth of shabu.

Durana said three plastic sachets containing shabu were found in Lumibao’s pant pockets, while Baretto yielded two other packets.

At the police station, Rodriguez appeared and allegedly tried to bribe the police officers with P40,000 cash for the release of Nolasco.

The three men are now detained at the CPD-Station 7 and charged with illegal sale and possession of dangerous drugs before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.

Rodriguez, on the other hand, was charged for bribing a public official. — Katherine Adraneda