Rivalry in illegal drug trade eyed in woman’s slay

TWO WOMEN, including a suspected drug peddler, were shot and killed while two men were injured by motorcycle-riding gunmen in a Quezon City neighborhood on Friday night.

Police are probing an alleged rivalry in the illegal drug trade as the motive behind the killing of Ma. Sussane Mallari, 28, of Barangay Batasan Hills.

Mallari was gunned down by four assailants in front of a video arcade shop on De Gloria Extension at 8:30 p.m. on Friday.

Another woman, Anabel Maso, 16, was hit by stray bullets in the attack and eventually died due to gunshot wounds in the head at Malvar General Hospital at 1:50 a.m. yesterday.

Batasan police station commander Supt. Ramon Pranada said Mallari was being investigated for her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade.

He added that the woman was the target of the shooting as anoth- er group may have wanted her out because she was a business rival.

Mallari was standing out in the street when two men on a motorcycle stopped nearby and suddenly shot her. Two other men on another motorbike served as lookouts.

Maso and two other men who were just standing nearby were hit by stray bullets. The three were taken to a nearby hospital where Maso later died.

Her companions, on the other hand, remain under observation.