Pasig cop nabbed with P2.5-M shabu in Quezon City

MANILA, Philippines - A Pasig City policeman and his friend were arrested while allegedly selling P2.5 million worth of shabu at a mall parking lot in Fairview, Quezon City Saturday night.

Police Officer 3 Alvin Rodrigo and his companion Mark Joseph Mendoza were collared at around 6 p.m. shortly after receiving marked money from a policeman posing as a buyer of 500 grams of shabu.

Chief Inspector Roque Merdegia, spokesman of the Anti-Illegal Drug Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF), said the sting was staged following reports from concerned citizens on Rodrigo alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade.

Merdegia said they are verifying reports about the two men being remnants of a drug syndicate led by Amin Imam Boratong, who was convicted for running a shabu “tiangge” or flea market in Pasig years ago.

AIDSOTF chief Senior Superintedent Bartolome Tobias said aside from criminal charges, they would file an administrative case against the policeman, saying “hoodlums” in uniform should be weeded out of the police force.

Merdegia said based on information, the suspects were operating in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina ordered the immediate filing of charges against the suspects and directed all police units to go after those involved in illegal drugs.