Police arrest man for illegal gambling, drugs

The Cebu City Police Office yesterday noon arrested a man for illegal gambling at sitio Lawis in barangay Pasil and booked him also for possession of 43 sachets of shabu.

The suspect, 28-year-old Noel Tortor, a jobless resident of the barangay, was first caught playing in one of illegal gambling machines on an abandoned house along with other bettors.

Tortor, when frisked later, was found to have sachets of shabu placed inside a film canister kept in the right front pocket of his short pants, said Sr. Insp. George Ylanan, head of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Branch.

CIIB members, along with deputy director, Supt. Paul Labra, conducted the saturation drive in the area, resulting in the arrest of Tortor and the confiscation of five functional but illegal gambling machines---four bingo fruit (moli-moli) and one video karera.

Tortor denied the seized sachets of shabu belonged to him but admitted that he sells shabu sachets for P100. He said that he only started drug pushing last month but insisted that he was only playing video karera when arrested.

City police director Patrocinio Comendador said that Tortor was arrested last year for illegal drugs, a case that is pending until now. He has been out on bail but he will now be facing additional charges, and this time, for violating the laws on illegal gambling and illegal drugs.

Last year's case of Tortor has been beset with the question of jurisdiction on the part of the arresting policemen from Fuente Police Station.

Reports had it that Fuente policemen arrested Tortor for alleged drug possession in Pasil, which is under the jurisdiction of the San Nicolas Police Station. The police however insisted that they arrested him at barangay Sambag that is already a part of the Fuente police coverage.

There was also a question of authority, or if the Fuente policemen followed the rule of coordinating first with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency before operating against illegal drugs.

The police were able to show a photocopy of the PDEA authority for the anti-illegal drug operation but the defense wanted this verified first.

Both legal questions over Tortor's arrest have yet to be resolved until now. – Queenie Chariz Dayanan/RAE