PDEA chief: More agents involved in drug dealing

Drugbusters or shabu dealers?

It started with two police colonels assigned at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) being arrested for stealing shabu from their evidence room. Days later, the lead investigator in the case was nabbed for selling shabu.

Now, PDEA chief Director General Dionisio Santiago confirmed that there are other anti-drug agents engaged in drug dealing.

"We have information that some people from other anti-drug agencies are reportedly involved in trafficking, kaya pinagsabihan ko na sila na yung mga gumalaw dyan tumigil na," Santiago said.

PDEA, which is directly under the Office of the President, is the lead government agency responsible for stopping the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country. Units from the Philippine National Police-Anti-Illegal Drug Special Operation Task Force PNP-AIDSOTF) and the National Bureau of Investigation-Reaction Arrest and Interdiction Division (NBI-RAID) have to coordinate with PDEA for all their drug raids.

Santiago said the plight of Superintendent Jerome Mutia, Superintendent Gustavo Torres and Senior Police Officer 4 Glenn Logan should serve as lesson to other anti-drug agents "to stop their illegal activities before it’s too late."

Mutia, Torres and two security guards have been implicated in the theft of seven kilos of shabu from the evidence room of PDEA headquarters in Quezon City last Aug. 21.

The guards spilled the beans on Mutia, who was later arrested while about to deliver 125 grams shabu to a prospective buyer. Torres remains in hiding.

Logan, who was investigating the involvement of the two officers, was arrested by virtue of search warrant issued by a Manila judge for the sale of shabu last Saturday.

Raiders seized two plastic packets containing 10 grams of shabu from the suspect as well as a weighing scale.

"Huwag pumasok sa gusot. Ngayon masaya kayo, but there is always a reckoning point, mabibisto rin kayo," warned the PDEA chief, who said he is extremely saddened by the involvement of his men in the sale of illegal drugs.

PDEA has filed charges of violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 against Logan before the Pasig City Prosecutor’s Office.

PDEA spokesman Superintendent Francisco Gabriel said Santiago has tapped Superintendent Edwin Roque, chief of PDEA’s Intelligence and Investigation Division, to replace Logan in the shabu theft .

Santiago vowed to further strengthen their counter-intelligence effort to be able to address "first sign of weakness of each of the anti-drug agents."