Thanks to fleeing robber, marijuana smuggler caught

MANILA, Philippines - A woman who was about to smuggle a brick of marijuana leaves to an inmate in the Quezon City Jail was caught yesterday when a robber bumped into her as he tried to escape and caused the contents of her bag to scatter on the sidewalk.

Chanda Ebanez-Galido was arrested after the brick, weighing nearly a kilo and worth P5,500 on the street, was seen in her possession. The robber successfully escaped.

Chief Inspector Enrico Figueroa said Galido, 33, of Pulilan, Bulacan, is facing charges under Republic Act 9165.

“She (Galido) told us that she was supposed to sneak the brick of marijuana leaves into one of the inmates at the Quezon City Jail,” Figueroa said. “We weren’t really after her as we didn’t know she was carrying the contraband inside her bag.”

Galido happened to be in the area before noon Friday, when Figueroa and his men were conducting surveillance at the corner of Kamuning Road and Edsa.

Figueroa, who heads the Theft and Robbery Investigation Section of the Quezon City Police District, said there had been reported incidents of robbery snatching in the area, mostly involving jeepney passengers.

Senior Police Officer 2 Mardito Garcia then spotted a man who snatched the necklace of a female passenger. Garcia chased the fleeing suspect, who bumped into Galido as he was running away. Because of this, the woman’s belongings scattered on the ground.

The policeman continued running after the suspect, who was eventually able to evade arrest. Garcia’s backup, PO3 Jeffrey Martinez, went to help Galido and saw what he thought was a suspicious-looking object wrapped in newspaper. When he checked, he found out that it was a brick of dried leaves believe to be marijuana.

“We took the woman into custody and when we had the evidence checked by our crime lab, they were indeed dried marijuana leaves,” Figueroa said.