2 Boratong kin caught in family drug business

MANILA, Philippines - A niece and nephew of convicted shabu tiangge (flea market) operator Amin Imam Boratong were arrested by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents during a raid Saturday for allegedly selling drugs at the old tiangge site in Pasig City.

In a report to NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula, the Reaction, Arrest and Interdiction Division (RAID) identified the suspects as Hamem Boratong Panda, 22, and Minerba Boratong Batugan, 27.

The NBI said its agents recovered 42 grams of shabu from Panda and 6.9 grams from Batugan.

Acsaimen Boratong, alias Macmac, also a relative of Boratong, escaped. Acsaimen, reportedly Boratong’s hitman, used his three daughters – aged four to six – as a human barricade to deter agents from breaking down the steel door of his house while he fled through an opening in the roof.

The NBI said the suspects reportedly carried on the family’s illegal drug business despite the arrest and conviction of their uncle, Amin Imam, and his wife, Sheryl Molera, who were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Pasig regional trial court. The shabu tiangge, located in a compound on F. Soriano street – near the Pasig City Hall – was raided by the NBI in 2006.

“Considering that the arrested suspects were Boratong’s relatives, we can’t help but think that he possibly have a hand in the operations of the drug syndicate in Pasig. The operation was prompted by information that suspects continued their illicit drug business even after their uncle was committed (jail) by the court,” NBI spokesperson Cecilio Zamora said in an interview.