Drug traffickers nabbed in Tarlac

CAMP MACABULOS, Tarlac City – Combined police operatives of the Tarlac Police, Provincial Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) and Tarlac provincial mobile group arrested a suspected a big-time drug trafficker and four others in a separate raids in Concepcion town and Tarlac City, police said yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome, Tarlac Provincial police director, identified the suspected drug lord as Crisanto Cruz, and two other drug suspects as Juancho Biagtan and Noli Manalo.

The raiding team, armed with search warrant issued by Judge Alipio Yumul of the Regional Trial Court Branch 66, swooped down on their safehouse in Baragay Parang, Concepcion town, said Bartolome.

Confiscated from Cruz were 16.5 grams of suspected shabu, he said.

The arresting police officer, identified as SPO2 Crispin Unson, was stabbed by the suspect after a commotion during the raid at his drug den.

Tarlac City police raiding team, led by Senior Superintendent Rudy Gamido Lacadin, city police director, arrested two more drug suspects – Ador Lacson and Victor Lacson ‑ in Barangay San Nicolas.

The raiding team was also armed with search warrants issued by Judge Bitty Biliran of the Regional Trial Court Branch 65, said Bartolome.

Also confiscated from the raid in Concepcion town were 37 grams of shabu worth Pl90,000 sealed in 16 plastic sachets.

Also found were three improvised tooters. Disposable lighters, an improvised burner, a pair of scissors, aluminum foil, a digital weighing scale and plastic packaging materials by the police.