Life term for 3 drug suspects

A Pasay City judge yesterday sentenced three persons to life imprisonment after they were found in possession of almost a kilo of shabu during a routine inspection along Buendia Avenue last year.

Judge Eleuterio Guerrero, of Branch 116 of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court, found accused Rolando Pineda, Cynthia Coderes and Michael San Juan guilty of violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Each was also ordered to pay a P500,000 fine. The court also gave instructions to turn over the confiscated 978.7 grams of shabu to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for appropriate disposition.

"With respect to the culpability of the accused, this court is similarly inclined to accept the view that all the accused have conspired in the transport of the same dangerous drugs to an undisclosed place or destination on board the same car," Guerrero said in his 17-page decision.

Records showed at 10 a.m. of Dec. 15, 2003, Inspector Grant Gollod and six other Pasay policemen were conducting monitoring and surveillance operations when they spotted a heavily tinted Toyota Corolla with no license plates near the intercession of F.B. Harrison and Buendia Avenue.

They approached the parked vehicle, announced themselves as policemen and knocked on the car’s window. They asked San Juan, the driver, for his papers. Pineda, who was seated at the front passenger seat, opened his window and explained they did not have the car papers with them.

SPO3 Sorino Aure had just ordered the driver to step out of the car when SPO2 Roberto Jovenir saw Pineda trying to tuck a paper bag under the seat. When he stepped out, the bag fell to the floor and its contents — white crystalline substance — were spilled.

Police also recovered two plastic sachets of shabu from the driver. Coderes, who was seated at the back of the car, said the owner of the paper bag, whom she identified as Mike, was in her room at her Makati condo.

Police were unable to locate Mike and the accused were taken to police headquarters.