WAR V. DRUGS 4 Sadaya Group members fall in drug ops

The Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) arrested four allegedly high-value targets who are suspected members of the Sadaya Drug Group in Mandaue City in the past four days.

Operatives conducted a buybust against Elbert Sadaya, 55, but he escaped during the operation.

His wife, however, was not as lucky. Elsa Sadaya, 49, was arrested in their house in Zone 1, Barangay Canduman at 6:10 a.m. yesterday after police found a small and a medium pack of white crystalline substance believed to be shabu in her possession.

A search warrant against Elbert was also served by the Mandaue Police Station (MPS) 6, in coordination with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 7.

Authorities found another sachet of shabu, two air guns and two .38 revolvers that were reportedly owned by Elbert.

Elsa said that Harold Sadaya, the identified leader of the Sadaya Drug Group, is her husband’s nephew. He is detained at the Mandaue City Jail.

According to a press state- ment from MCPO Director Roberto Alanas, the MPS 1 arrested another drug suspect, Marlon Maringuran, 37, in Sitio Superior, Barangay Looc at 6:30 p.m. last Tuesday. Alanas said 11 sachets of shabu were recovered from him.

MCPO also caught Jubirth Jumao-as and Filoteo Maloloy-on, who are both from Barangay Paknaan, last Sunday night and Monday midnight, respectively.

Two sachets of shabu were recovered from Jumao-as and another small and medium pack of the same substance were seized from Maloloy-on.

Meanwhile, Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Jose Mario Espino said he will not order a separate investigation on the Mandaue City Police Office’s (MCPO) operation that resulted in the death of the three Umpad brothers.

Espino, however, said he has ordered MCPO Director Roberto Alanas to submit a full report on the operation.

PRO 7, he said, will wait for the outcome of the investigation initiated by the Commission on Hu- man Rights 7.

Slain siblings Jhon Vincent, Ruben and Jerome reportedly belonged to the drug group of Sadaya.

Espino said Alanas told him that the operation was legitimate.

The PRO 7 top official said that it is normal for relatives of suspects to deny their involvement in illegal drug trade. He said he is open if the family can give concrete information or produce witnesses that could tell the operatives had violated the procedures. /