Alleged narco-mayor ordered transferred to Sarangani jail

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – A Regional Trial Court judge here has ordered the transfer of suspected narco-mayor Aniceto Lopez Jr. to the Sarangani provincial jail from the detention facility of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) here because of security concerns.

RTC executive judge Oscar Noel ordered on Friday the PDEA regional office to commit Lopez to the provincial jail in Albel, Sarangani.

The court acted on the request of PDEA to transfer the detention of Lopez to the detention facility of the provincial government in Alabel, Sarangani because of the security risks posed by the detention of the mayor at the PDEA regional office.

PDEA Agents, backed by soldiers and Philippine National Police (PNP)Special Action Force (SAF) troopers, swooped down on the house of Lopez in Barangay Lumasal, Maasim last October 6, which resulted in the seizure of at least one kilo of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, 100 ecstasy tablets, firearms and explosives, a hydro-incinerator, cylinder tubes and chemicals used in the manufacture of shabu.

Lopez managed to escape during the raid but later surrendered to Senator Manny Pacquiao the same day.

PDEA regiona l director Gil Cesario Castro tagged Lopez as a key leader of the El Patron drug group, a local big-time drug syndicate operating in the region.

Castro said the drug ring is linked to a local narco-terror group of AnsarKhilafah Philippines, which has reported links with the drug network of slain mayors Reynaldo Parojinog of Ozamiz City and Rolando Espinosa of Albuerra, Leyte.

The raiding team also seized a “bluebook,” which was said to contain illegal transactions of the drug syndicate with detained drug lord Herbert Colangco and several local officials linked to the illegal drug trade.

PDEA said the mayor is a known supporter of the ISIS-inspired local terror group, Ansar Khilafah Philippines and New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in the area.

Meanwhile, two village officials who witnessed the drug raid on mayor’s house claimed that they were forced by the PDEA officials to witness that the illegal drugs and other evidence were seized from house of the mayor.

Lumasal barangay councilors Rommel Guial and Raymond Fado alleged that the PDEA officials threatened to sue them if they refused to sign the documents for of the inventory of evidence to prove that the illegal drugs and other illegal items were actually confiscated from the house of Lopez.

Haydee Lopez, the suspect’s wife said the charges filed against her husband were trumped up.

She said her husband was not involved in illegal drug trade.

Lopez said her husband has been very active in the war on drugs launched by the Duterte administration.

She said the mayor was very active and supportive in the anti-drug operations launched by the police and PDEA which geared towards the declaration of Maasim as the first drug-free municipality in Sarangani.