Suspects in Liloan drug bust “guns-for-hire”

CEBU, Philippines - Some of the men arrested by the Provincial Intelligence Branch during a buy-bust operation Thursday afternoon in Barangay Tayud, Liloan are said to be guns-for-hire.

Based on the analysis and assessment of Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador, there is a “group of hit men” coordinating with the people of Bebot Pepito, the subject of the operation.

 Comendador said that the fatality, Richard Taco, could be one of the hit men. But he has not determined yet how many of them were involved in the activity pending tactical interrogation of the others.

Taco was shot after he resisted arrest and was about to pull the pin of a hand grenade. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician at the Eversley Child Sanitarium in Barangay Jagobiao, Mandaue City due to a gunshot wound in the body.

Subject for verification were four of the seven who were arrested, Bonifacio Labrador, 30, of Lawaan, Danao City; Bernard Roble, 33, of Sta. Rosa, Danao City; Jaime Merabaol, 30, and Rey Sabas, 22, of Taboc, Mandaue City.  Operatives refused to name the three females who were also caught repacking shabu at the apartment unit of Pepito.

Comendador said that shabu they recovered were just half of what the group had. “Half na lang to kay ang katunga na-deliver na, duna may corresponding names asa punta ang drugs,” he said.

The rest of the shabu was about to be delivered in different towns in Northern Cebu. Aside from the several packs of shabu worth P500,000, also seized were assorted firearms, weighing scale, drug paraphernalia, assorted ammunitions, magazines, a bullet vest and a ledger notebook with a list of P1.7 million collectibles and deposit slips.

The firearms seized were an Ingram, KG9 sub-machine gun, .45 pistols, .357 revolvers, 22 magnum, and 9mm revolver.

Pepito and his wife, a certain Isyat, escaped.

Comendador claimed that with the arrest of the suspects and with the death of Taco, the distribution of illegal drugs is greatly affected especially in the towns of Consolacion and Liloan as well as in Mandaue City.

The operation also neutralized the group, who were involved in shooting incidents in Consolacion.

The firearms recovered will be subjected to a cross-matching at the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory-7 in Camp Sotero Cabahug, Cebu City to determine if those were used in other crimes.

Meanwhile in a separate development, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-7 filed criminal complaints against two suspected illegal drug pushers in Danao City.  (FREEMAN)