NBI mistakes Munti dad for drug suspect

MANILA, Philippines –  National Bureau of Investigation agents arrested the wrong man yesterday, raiding the house of a Muntinlupa City councilor they had mistaken for a drug suspect.

Councilor Elmer Espeleta told The STAR that a loud noise woke him up at around 4 a.m. and men wearing bulletproof vests and carrying high-powered firearms went into his bedroom and dragged him outside.

“We are NBI agents,” the men told the councilor, who said he was handcuffed and informed he was the subject of a warrant in a drug case. The search warrant, issued by Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Amor Reyes, listed the suspect’s address as Espeleta Compound in Purok Uno at Cupang, Muntinlupa City.

Espeleta, who is staying at a compound on Villa street in Barangay Cupang, said the person the NBI agents were looking for – Artemio Limas – is a tenant at one of their apartments several blocks away from his residence. “I called up Mayor (Aldrin) San Pedro and a team of policemen arrived at my house,” he said.

Espeleta appealed to law enforcement agencies to strictly observe standard operational procedures in serving warrants to avoid a repeat of the incident, which he said was a case of mistaken identity.

Gregorio Zuñiga, leader of the NBI team who arrested Espeleta, clarified that the councilor is not a suspect and actually helped them arrest suspected drug dealers in the area.

“We have arrested two suspects,” Zuñiga told The STAR in a telephone interview.