Five cops in drug bust charged

Five policemen, a dismissed cop and two civilians arrested during a buy-bust operation last Wednesday were charged with drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms before the Quezon City prosecutor’s office yesterday.

Charged were Senior Police Officer 2 Rodolfo Estores, PO2 Cyril Digusen, PO2 Darwin Salvador and PO2 Jay Calderon and PO1 Rolando Isidro, all assigned at the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), dismissed policeman Elmer Ramos and civilians, Darwin Mijares and Marcelo Montero.

Senior Superintendent Felipe Rojas Jr., head of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management (RIDM) of the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) said they are still waiting for the resolution of the prosecutor before they will continue the investigation of the suspects.

Rojas claimed that the crime laboratory of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Crame certified that the seized two kilos of evidence were not shabu but salt.

However, Rojas said they filed the drug trafficking charges against the eight accused citing a provision of Section 5 of the Comprehensive Anti-Drugs Law or RA 9165 that any item sold made to appear as shabu is considered a violation.

He said they filed the illegal possession of firearms charges pending a certification from the Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) in Camp Crame whether the six caliber .45 pistols and a 9mm Berreta pistol are licensed to the suspects.

"Once the FED certifies that the seized firearms were issued to the policemen then we will amend the charges we filed against them," he explained.

Rojas said they are now investigating reports that Mijares is actually the driver of Superintendent Felix Mabanag, the chief of the CIU of the QCPD.

The RIDM chief claimed they also found out that Ramos has pending drug cases in Marikina City and in Pangasinan.

It was established that it was Ramos who negotiated for the sale of the two kilos of shabu to the informant of the NCRPO’s Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (RAIDSOTF).

"We confiscated his cellphone and it was the same unit our informant contacted for the purchase of two kilos of shabu," Rojas told The Star.

Earlier, the five policemen claimed they were on a mission to arrest bank robbers in the area when collared by the NCRPO raiders.

QCPD director Senior Superintendent Magtanggol Gatdula claimed that Mabanag admitted that his men were indeed out to get bank robbers operating in the area.

"We gave way to the RIDM investigation to prevent suspicion that we would whitewash the case," Gatdula told The Star.

The QCPD director promised to cooperate on Rojas’ investigation of the case. – Non Alquitran