Ex-actress, 4 others nabbed in drug bust

MANILA, Philippines — An ex-military officer, a former sexy actress and their three companions were arrested in a drug sting in Quezon City, which turned into a bloody shootout that ended in Manila on Wednesday night.

Fidel Samson Jr., 58, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA); Kathrine Santos, 34, also known as Kat de Santos when she was still a member of the Baywalk Bodies; Victor Ronquillo, 54; Ferdinand Parado, 52, and Lisa Cuenco, 57, were the targets of an operation by Quezon City Police District personnel in Barangay Salvacion at around 10:30 p.m., according to a police report.

Samson was discharged from the military with the rank of second lieutenant for his participation in the 1989 coup attempt against former president Corazon Aquino.

Santos was arrested in Quezon City in 2018 for possession of dangerous drugs.

Police recovered around 120 grams of shabu with a street value of P816,000 from the suspects.

The suspects were negotiating a deal with undercover police officers when they sensed it was an entrapment.

Samson, Santos and Ronquillo were arrested while Parado and Cuenco escaped in a sport utility vehicle.

One of the suspects shot at the police officers, which triggered a running gun battle that ended along Tecson street in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

Parado and Cuenco alighted from the vehicle and ran towards a street in Barangay 379, where they were cornered in a house. They yielded a .45-caliber pistol.

The two, who were wounded in the clash, were brought to a hospital for treatment.

PDEA catches 2 Chinese

Meanwhile, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) arrested two Chinese men and confiscated three kilos of shabu with a street value of P20.4 million during a sting at a hotel in Quezon City on Wednesday night.

Adrian Alvarino, who heads PDEA’s Intelligence and Investigation Service, said Zheng Shiliang, 49, and Jack Lee, 44, are not “street level. They do not deal with small groups.”

AWOL cop falls

A policeman who went AWOL or absent without official leave and his companion were arrested in a sting in Barangay Palanan, Makati at around 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday.

Cpl. Ronaldo Robles, 45, and Erwin dela Cruz, 25, reportedly engaged lawmen in a brief chase when they tried to speed off on a motorcycle, according to city police chief Col. Harold Depositar.

Police intercepted the pair along San Andres Road in Manila. Dela Cruz was wounded when he allegedly grappled with one of the operatives to snatch his gun. He was brought to the Ospital ng Makati for treatment.

Robles was previously assigned to the National Capital Region Police Office’s Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit.

Police seized from the suspects 59 sachets of shabu valued at more than P129,000, an improvised handgun loaded with three .38-caliber bullets, a Philippine National Police identification card and the motorcycle.

Aside from drug charges, the two men also face charges of violating the election gun ban and resisting arrest.

In Muntinlupa, Glenn de Guzman, Maylin Rodolfo, Anthony Pasion and Christopher Bayangos were arrested for carrying around 200 grams of shabu valued at P1.36 million in a sting on Wednesday night. – Neil Jayson Servallos, Ralph Edwin Villanueva