15 MPD anti-drug cops axed

MANILA, Philippines - All 15 members of Manila Police District anti-illegal drug unit were sacked after five kilos of shabu, with a street value of P25 million, and drug paraphernalia were found in their lockers at the MPD headquarters Saturday, an official said yesterday.

Among the other items confiscated from the police officers’ lockers were marijuana leaves, Valium (generic name diazepam) capsules, and “used” tooters and pieces of aluminum foil, according to MPD legal office chief Dennis Wagas.

The illegal drugs were discovered after MPD director Senior Superintendent Rolando Nana ordered an inspection on the District Anti-Illegal Drug (DAID) unit barracks on Saturday morning.

MPD officials denied that the “inspection” was a “raid” but members of the MPD’s Special Weapons and Tactics team, fully armed, accompanied the inspectors, led by Wagas.

He said that according to police procedure, anti-narcotics police officers should not keep any confiscated drugs in their possession. These items should be immediately turned over to laboratories for examination, the results of which will be used as evidence in court.

After the inspection, the MPD-DAID operatives, headed by Senior Inspector Titoy Jay Cuden, were disarmed, removed from their posts and ordered to take a drug test. 

Nana also ordered an investigation to determine the charges that would be filed against Cuden and the 14 anti-drug police officers. 

Cuden initially claimed that only trash and old documents were found in their drawers and cabinets, most of which had been used by retired DAID operatives.

He recanted after the MPD’s legal office confirmed that illegal drugs were found in the DAID barracks. He insisted, however, that only Valium capsules and “tawas” or alum, which looks like shabu, had been found.

Laboratory results conducted on the confiscated items debunked Cuden’s claims.