6 drug dealers working for Boratong identified

A government witness has identified five of at least 50 sistemadors or drug pushers working at the drug den or shabu tiangge (flea market) in Pasig City, which was allegedly being operated by suspected drug trafficker Amin Imam Boratong.

The biggest of them all, according to state witness Samer Palao, was Cader Sultan alias Dario who remits more or less P1 million daily earnings to Boratong.

"Sultan has at least 10 men working under him that’s why he has the biggest daily remittance forwarded to Boratong," Palao told Judge Abraham Borreta, during the resumption of Boratong’s trial last Thursday, at the Pasig City Regional Trial Court.

As Boratong’s right-hand man, Palao said one of his jobs was to accompany his former boss in overseeing and inspecting the shabu tiangge’s operations.

The drug den, which was located along F. Soriano St. in Barangay Sto. Tomas, was shut down by the police last year.

According to Palao, Sultan – a brother of Boratong’s first wife, Mimie – and the other sistemadors occupied an alley inside the shabu tiangge, where clients lined up to buy drugs.

He said there were several cubicles inside the compound where addicts smoked pot and drug-sniffing paraphernalia were given for free.

When pressed by Borreta to name a few of the sistemadors, Palao blurted the names of Sultan and his brother, Mangontawan Sultan; Mico Macapa; Onad Molera, a brother of Boratong’s second wife, Sheryl; and his former boss’ brother, Jimmy.

He said he knew the others only by their aliases and faces. The other sistemadors remitted between P100,000 to P200,000 every 6 p.m. at Boratong’s house, dubbed as Malacañang.

He said Boratong employed some 15 workers to count the money. Smaller bills – P20 to P100 – were deposited in a bank at 10 a.m. the following day while the P500 and P1,000 bills were set aside to for purchasing shabu from foreign drug syndicates.

Palao said Boratong would direct him to stand watch almost daily on the 15 workers, mostly sisters of first wife Mimie, to prevent them from stealing.

Coincidentally, Palao was accused of forcibly abducting and killing Cadar Sultan in Marawi City last July. Mimie’s sister, Piangne, Macapa’s wife, is the complainant.

Earlier, the Supreme Court’s first division had ordered the hearing of the case transferred to Pasig City. However, the case was again transferred to Judge Gil Bollozos, of the Cagayan de Oro Regional Trial Court.