Tondo drug den raided; 9 arrested

Nine persons were apprehended when police raided a suspected drug den in Tondo, Manila yesterday afternoon.

Armed with a search warrant, members of the Manila Police District Station 1 and special operations unit led by Superintendent Kay Dimaandal swooped down on a house along Ampioco street in Barangay 138 in Balut at around 3:30 p.m.

Dimaandal said they conducted the operation after a police asset allegedly managed to buy shabu from Jay Toriaga, 48, who was on the drug watchlist.

Toriaga was nabbed along with eight drug suspects.

Police said 13 others were held for questioning.

Probers said they recovered eight sachets of shabu, two .45-caliber handguns, ammunition and a hand grenade from Toriaga’s house.

Dimaandal said Toriaga was allegedly pushing drugs in the area.

In San Juan City, three persons were collared for alleged drug possession.

They were John Ferdinand Campos, Hilario Buencamino and Reymart Valera.

Campos and Buencamino were on the drug watchlist, according to city police commander Chief Superintendent Chito Bersaluna.

In Marikina, three men were nabbed for alleged possession of marijuana.

Joseph Anthony Lopez, 27; Mark Julius San Jose, 22, and Joseph McGyver Lopez, 27, allegedly yielded marijuana leaves, popularly known as Kush and P1,000 in marked money.

In Caloocan City, Abulkhair Pumbaya and Rakim Basher were collared in separate drug stings.

Senior Inspector Allan Hernandez, head of the city police drug enforcement unit, said they recovered 13 sachets of shabu from Pumbaya and Basher.