1 dead, 595 nabbed during Holy Week
An alleged drug pusher was killed while 595 others were arrested during an intensified anti-drug campaign in Metro Manila during the Holy Week, an official said yesterday.
The suspect was killed in northern Metro Manila when he reportedly fought back against police officers who tried to arrest him, said Director Oscar Albayalde, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief.
Of the 595 arrested, 105 were tagged as pushers while the rest were users, he added.
Albayalde said police officers took advantage of the full alert status during the Lenten season to conduct surveillance on drug suspects.
He commended NCRPO personnel for a job well done and acknowledged the cooperation and vigilance of the public.
“Peace is everybody’s concern. Let us help each other rid the streets of these criminals,” he said.
22 caught in weekend ops
At least 22 alleged drug pushers and users were arrested in police operations in Metro Manila over the weekend.
In Caloocan, 10 were apprehended, among them Romel Raymundo, Arnel Cabrestante and Ardee Velasco, who were chased by po- lice officers after they were caught without helmets while riding a motorcycle at a checkpoint in Phase 7 shortly after midnight yesterday. Three sachets of shabu were seized from them.
Belarma and Crispin Baloro were caught using shabu in Barangay 120 at past midnight Sunday.
Jaypee Sanchez, Joie Tomas, Teofilo Lalu and Pedro Ponteras were arrested for being shirtless in public on Sunday. Sanchez was caught with a sachet of shabu and Lalu, Ponteras and Tomas with two sachets each.
Felipe Gajudo was arrested in a sting before midnight on Saturday. Police recovered one sachet of shabu from him.
Five persons were arrested in Malabon.
Benjamin Aberquez, 19; Jeffrey Saron, 20, and a 17-yearold boy were arrested for engaging residents of Barangay Catmon in a fistfight Sunday night. Three sachets of marijuana were seized from them.
Tricycle driver Argie Haldos and Klirt Vincent Bautista were arrested for causing trouble in Barangay Hulong Duhat on Sunday. A sachet of shabu was seized from Haldos.
In Pasay, five persons were caught using shabu in a house that reportedly served as a drug den in Malibay on Sunday.
Rico Adioque Faderon, 43; Isidro Marasigan Hain, 23; Ric Dinapo Paule, 53; Wazelle Mojado Wheller; 42; and Anthony Cura Manuel, 49, were apprehended in Manuel’s house during a sting targeting Faderon, who is on the city police’s drug watchlist.
Seven sachets of shabu, with a street value of P3,500, drug paraphernalia and P500 marked money were seized from the suspects.
A homemade 9mm pistol with five bullets was confiscated from Faderon.
In Pasig on Sunday, Felipe Aballa was caught in a sting in Barangay Pinagbuhatan at around 1 p.m.
Two sachets of shabu and P200 marked money were seized from him.
Six hours later, Jerick Cotomora was caught with two sachets of shabu in his pants pocket. He was arrested for creating trouble in Barangay Malinao.
Saballa and Cotomora are not on the city police’s drug watchlist, police said.
Korean held for weed, LSD
Meanwhile, Korean Unghyun Kim, 25, was arrested in a sting in Sta. Ana, Manila last Friday.
Kim, who holds a tourist visa and is currently billeted at the Altiva Cypress Tower in Taguig, was apprehended along New Panaderos street at around noon.
Police seized more than 1.25 kilos of marijuana, with a street value of P35,000, and a sachet of the psychedelic drug LSD were seized from the suspect, according to Superintendent Olive Sagaysay, Manila Police District Station 6 commander.
Sagaysay said Kim reportedly operated in the University Belt area and his buyers are mostly students.