NBI nabs Cavite drug peddler

Elements of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) busted Friday an alleged "guns for rent" business of a 28-year-old drug dealer in Cavite and confiscated an assorted set of firearms and ammunition worth P1.5 million.

NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco said violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition were filed against Jericho Tabing with the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday. He was not allowed to post bail while his alleged accomplice, Lance Ramos, remains at large.

The two suspects were reportedly members of the Sarno/Alindog Group, a local drug group whose operations span Metro Manila and Southern Luzon. They are reportedly included in the "order of battle" of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Wycoco said this was the first time that they have apprehended a person for allegedly renting out firepower to suspected bank robbers and other criminals.

"It is possible that from their earnings from drug dealing, they were able to expand their business to the leasing of firearms," Wycoco said.

The operation was conducted by some 20 operatives of the Reaction, Arrest and Interdiction Division (RAID) led by head agent Roel Bolivar and assisted by the National Capital Region (NCR) office, headed by Regional Director Ruel Lasala.

Wycoco admitted that the discovery of the armaments was a surprise to the NBI operatives because they only received information on illegal drugs.

He said the government does not even have some of the high-powered firearms they seized.