Roving policemen arrested yesterday a man reported to be acting suspiciously in a resettlement area for former rail dwellers in Valenzuela City and found four kilos of marijuana in his possession.
Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian lauded the police for the suspect’s arrest. He said the arrest came in the wake of earlier complaints from residents about illegal drug trafficking in their quiet neighborhood.
City police chief Superintendent Billy Beltran identified the suspect as Michael Almodiel, single, jobless, and residing at Barangay Punturin.
Inspector Rhoderick Juan, Station Anti-Illegal Drugs-Special Operating Unit (SAID-SOU) chief, added that aside from the narcotics, they also found six bullets for a .38 caliber revolver. The gun was reported missing.
Records showed the incident happened past noon on Thursday, when Almodiel, clutching a plastic bag, fled upon seeing a police patrol car. The policemen gave chase and arrested him.
Almodiel’s plastic bag yielded four marijuana bricks, six packets of dried marijuana concealed in newspaper sheets and others packed as cigarettes.
He is detained at the police station cell while the police are preparing to charge him with illegal possession of prohibited drugs. – Jerry Botial