CEBU, Philippines - A day after the confiscation of at least P2.5 million worth of illegal drugs in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue, Police Regional Office-7 operatives seized another P2 million worth of shabu, drug paraphernalia, and firearms from six people in simultaneous operations yesterday morning.
Regional Special Operations Group and Regional Ant-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group policemen descended on Barangays Ermita and Pasil in Cebu City and arrested the subjects of the search warrants they implemented. The RSOG team raided Ermita and collared Robert Genovisa, 34; Ronnie Ramas, 23; and Lanjel Derelon, 27. Rizza Cabugason managed to escape. The suspects yielded 57 packs of suspected shabu, a .38 revolver with four bullets, cellular phones, and P7,300 believed to be proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs.
The RAIDSOTG team, on the other hand, arrested Breezy Borbon, Annabelle Zamora, and Edwin Tagalog. Marjorie Tagalog, Edwin’s daughter, eluded arrest.
Recovered from the suspects were one large and five medium packs of suspected shabu; P46,000; drug paraphernalia; and a cellular phone.
All those arrested are currently detained at the PRO-7 stockade pending the filing of a criminal complaint for violating the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunitions Act and Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Senior Superintendent Conrado Capa, deputy regional director for operations, said the arrests show that their intelligence monitoring is working in the entire Central Visayas.
He, however, said that they are not stopping here, as they are also improving their counter-intelligence campaign against policemen and government officials involved in illegal drugs.
Capa said they would be conducting a random drug test anytime on PRO-7 members.
“They will expect us (to do the drug test, but) at least they would not know what station in the city or province and when it (testing) would be,” he said.
He revealed that they confiscated a blue book from one of those arrested in Pasil containing an amount allocated to a policeman. No name, however, was indicated in the document.
Senior Inspector Chuck Barandog, Pasil Police Station chief, admitted there could be a possibility that a policeman is involved in the illegal drug trade but that they have yet to identify him.
“Police involvement is very common in all areas not only here in Pasil but it is hard to point (a finger) unless there is evidence,” he said, adding that they are open to a random or surprise drug test anytime.
Last Wednesday, the police confiscated P2.5million worth of shabu, 13 assorted firearms and drug paraphernalia and arrested 17 people during simultaneous implementation of search warrants in the cities of Mandaue and Cebu.
The successful operations prompted PRO-7 Director Prudencio Tom Bañas to declare that he expects a drop in crime volume for this quarter.
Operatives from the Regional Intelligence Division, RSOG, RAIDSOTG, Mandaue City Police Office, Regional Public Safety Battalion, and the Cebu City Police Office took part in the said operations in Barangays Guizo, Subangdaku, Casili and Mantuyong in Mandaue City and Barangays Duljo-Fatima and Calamba in Cebu City. (FREEMAN)