15 kilos of marijuana seized in Caloocan

About 15 kilos of marijuana were seized from an alleged drug dealer by anti-narcotics officers of the Manila Police District in a buy-bust operation in Caloocan City last Wednesday, police reported yesterday.

One man was arrested. Superintendent Florencio Ortilla, chief of the MPD’s anti-illegal drugs division, said Alex Segundo, 28, had been using Caloocan as his transshipment point for marijuana grown somewhere in Baguio City. Police estimated the marijuana to have a street value of P42,000.

Segundo was arrested after delivering two large bags of marijuana to an MPD officer posing as a buyer.

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza commended MPD acting director Senior Superintendent Danilo Abarzosa and Ortilla yesterday for the arrest.

Atienza pledged his support to the police in their campaign on illegal drugs, while at the same time warning officials to make sure the seized marijuana does not end up in the streets again.

"Let us keep Manila drug-free," he told them during a press conference in which Segundo was presented to Atienza. — Nestor Etolle