Army reservist, 2 others caught with P6.8 million shabu

MANILA, Philippines —Army reservist Pfc. Omar Pagawan sits on the pavement along with his alleged accomplices Amel Abdul and Jonaid Londoy following their arrest in a drug sting in Quezon City yesterday.

Pfc. Omar Pagawan, 35, who is assigned with the Joint Task Force National Capital Region (JTF-NCR); Amel Abdul, 31, and Jonaid Londoy, 27, were arrested by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) at the parking lot of a shopping mall along Commonwealth Avenue
in Barangay Holy Spirit at around 8:30 a.m.

PDEA spokesman Derrick Carreon said Pagawan, who was clad in a military uniform, and his companions sold a pack of shabu to an anti-narcotics agent posing as a drug buyer.

The suspects yielded approximately one kilo of shabu valued at P6.8 million.

The drug bust was supposed to happen at a mall in Pasay City but the suspects, for unknown reasons, decided to change the venue of the transaction to Quezon City, Carreon said.

Pagawan and his companions used a car with a sign stating they are frontliners in the government’s efforts to curb coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the drug transaction.

The Army will expel Pagawan if he is found guilty, public affairs chief Col. Ramon Zagala said yesterday.

“We hold all our personnel, whether active soldiers or reservists, to the highest standards of military discipline and professionalism. The Army Reserve Command will investigate this matter accordingly and if found guilty, he will be expelled as a reservist,” Zagala said in a statement.

Pagawan’s duty as part of the Army’s COVID-19 response was terminated on June 15. He was assigned to the National Capital Regional Community Defense Group.

Since he was caught wearing a uniform with the JTF-NCR’s marks, he will face charges of usurpation of authority or official functions and illegal use of uniforms and insignia aside from charges of drug pushing.  Romina Cabrera