Ex-PBA player, 2 others nabbed in drug sting
Former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) player Dorian Alan Peña underwent inquest proceedings at the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday following his arrest in a drug bust in Mandaluyong City.
Peña faces charges for violations of Republic Act 9165 for use of dangerous drugs and visiting a drug den.
The National Bureau of Investigation Task Force Against Illegal Drugs (NBITFAID) filed the complaint against him and suspects Ledy Mea Vilchez and Jose Paolo Ampeso.
Vilchez and Ampeso were charged with the sale of dangerous drugs, maintenance of a den, possession of dangerous drugs, possession of apparatus and other paraphernalia and use of dangerous drugs.
The drug sting operation took place at Merryland Village in Mandaluyong City and yielded two plastic sachets of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu and several drug paraphernalia. All three tested positive for drug use. Assistant State Prosecutors Jocelyn Dugay and Ethel Rhea Suril conducted the inquest proceedings.
A source said that while Peña tested positive for drug use, it could have been caused by the sleeping pills he was taking.
Peña, a Filipino-American, played for six teams in the PBA for 15 years until his retirement in 2016. He was also included twice in the PBA’s Mythical First Team.
Another source said Ampeso is the son of Jose Ampeso, former Philippine consul-general to Vancouver in Canada, who became controversial after a video showed him berating some overseas Filipino workers who were applying for or renewing their passports about four years ago.
7 caught in drug busts
Meanwhile, at least seven persons were arrested in separate drug stings in Caloocan, Malabon and Navotas cities on Wednesday.
Caloocan policemen arrested Wilfredo Patubo and Erickson Pamolo, both 32, in the BMBA Compound after conducting Oplan Galugad in Barangay 118 at around 7:15 a.m. A sachet of shabu was allegedly recovered from them.
In Malabon, police arrested Editha Cancao, 44, and Michael Alvarez, 37, during a drug sting in Barangays Tonsuya and Baritan, respectively. At least .16 grams of shabu was taken from Alvarez’s possession.
Patrolling Navotas policemen also collared a teenage girl after they allegedly chanced upon her holding a sachet of shabu in Barangay Tumana Wednesday evening, aside from arresting Jeffrey Telebreco and Carmelito Macosme in Barangay San Roque for the same offense.
Navotas City police chief Senior Superintendent Dante Novicio also said they are establishing the identity of a woman, believed to be between 30 and 35 years old, who was shot by two men along the Baywalk in Barangay Tanza early yesterday dawn.
Investigators found a sachet of shabu in her pocket.