‘Pusher’ killed
Suspect ‘fired at police’ after sensing he was dealing with decoy
POLICE shot dead an alleged drug pusher who tried to shoot it out with the arresting team in a buy-bust in Lapu-Lapu City yesterday.
The fatality was identified as Rexsan Manggudatu.
He was allegedly dealing drugs at 3 p.m. yesterday in Sitio Kabatoan, Barangay Maribago when he noticed that he was transacting business with a police decoy.
The City Intelligence Branch chief, Insp. Felix Clepas, said Manggudatu was on their top list of drug personalities whom police asked to stop selling drugs.
Manggudatu reportedly refused to heed the police’s call.
After sensing that he was dealing with police, Manggudatu reportedly pulled a 45 caliber pistol, and fired at the officers but missed.
The police decoy fired back and hit Manggudatu in the chest. Manggudatu fell. While the police was approaching him, the suspect pulled a hand grenade. Police shot him again before he could pull the grenade’s pin.
“Dili gyud unta to mahitabo kon wa pa siya mosukol (He wouldn’t have died had he surrendered),” Clepas told Superbalita Cebu.
Grenade
The suspect died of gunshot wounds in the chest, head and hands. Found in his possession was shabu worth P230,000.
Police seized the sus-
City Intelligence Branch chief, Insp. Felix Clepas, said suspect was on their top list of drug personalities whom police asked to stop selling drugs
pect’s pistol and grenade.
Lapu-Lapu police have in their list 106 drug personalities, 80 of whom have surrendered to Mayor Paz Radaza last June 30. They promised to quit selling drugs. Police profiled them before sending them home.
In Cebu City, seven persons were caught in separate anti-drugs operations.
The City Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group (CAIDSOTG) 7, headed by Senior Insp. Hartzel Billedo, arrested Rommel Estan, 20, and seized from him shabu worth P126, 000.
The suspect was ar- rested in a buy-bust in Barangay Pahina Central last Saturday evening.
In his Facebook page, Mayor Tomas Osmeña commended the police for arresting Estan. After visiting Barangay Sawang Calero yesterday, Osmeña posted that residents told him that the price of shabu in the area has gone up by 50 percent since the elections.
Doubled
In an earlier interview, a certain Jojo said during a mass surrender of drug personalities that the quantity of shabu being packed is now lesser while the price has doubled.
“I will stop now be- cause the packed shabu is lesser, that’s what makes us crazy. I prefer the bigger one because it is not insufficient,” he said.
In Barangay Suba, police caught Mary Grace Abellana, 25, and confiscated from her 50 small sachets of shabu.
She was one of the Taboan Police Station’s Top 10 drug personalities, along with Joseph Suarez, 34, who was also nabbed.
Nelson Basak, 34, was collared in Barangay Luz for possessing for small sachets of shabu.
Emerinciana Cuestas, 39, of Barangay Kamagayan was caught with drug paraphernalia.
Suspects Nikki Martel, 26, and Manuelo Gako, 35, were arrested in Barangay Labangon.
Meanwhile, 15 persons submitted themselves to the police’s Oplan Tokhang, or Toktok Hangyo, where police knock on the doors of suspected drug users and pushers and ask them to surrender.
When the team of Mambaling chief Senior Insp. Regino Maramag went to the compound of Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz, who was killed last June 17 in Las Piñas, the residents expressed willingness to support the Oplan Tokhang.
“They’ve shown the intention to surrender but were wary at first because they thought they will land in jail. We will see if they’ll submit,” Maramag said in an interview with Sun.star Cebu.
“We know the tough ones there in Duljo. If they won’t show themselves we’ll start our case buildup against them,” he added.
Maramag said they are expecting a mass surren- der of users and pushers from Duljo-Fatima today.
As of last Saturday, only nine pushers and five users from Barangay Duljo-Fatima submitted themselves while Sonny Cesneros was the only one who submitted yesterday.
Five drug personalities surrendered to barangay tanods and authorities in the Pardo Police Station.
They were Ackie Dacalos, Julio Cordova, Edgardo Badayos, Michael Medellin and Walter Abatayo.
In Carbon Police Station, nine pushers from Ermita signed an agreement to stop the illegal drug trade.