Bigcas tests positive for drug use, to undergo rehab

MANILA, Philippines - The charges of illegal possession of an Armalite and shabu filed against alleged vehicle and weapons smuggler Lynard Allan Bigcas may be bailable but he still has to stay in a government facility for six months after he tested positive for drug use.

According to officials of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Bigcas still has to undergo drug rehabilitation.

PDEA-Region 10 director Roberto Opeña said he would seek a court order to have Bigcas transferred from Cagayan de Oro City to the Center for the Ultimate Rehabilitation and Education of Drug Dependents, which functions under the Department of Health, in Taguig City.

PDEA spokesman Derrick Arnold Carreon said under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, any drug suspect who tests positive for drug use must undergo six-month rehabilitation.

Earlier, PDEA Director General Undersecretary Jose Gutierrez Jr. said Bigcas tested positive for drug use, while the evidence recovered from him was found to be shabu.

Charges of illegal possession of firearms and possession of dangerous drugs and drug paraphernalia have been filed in court against Bigcas, who is now under the custody of PDEA-Region 10. 

Bigcas was arrested by PDEA-Region 10 agents shortly after he figured in an accident while doing a motorcycle stunt along Velez Street in Cagayan de Oro City.

Opeña and his men were on their way back to the office when suddenly a big motorbike tumbled over in front of their vehicle. Opeña asked for Bigcas’ driver’s license but he failed to present it, saying it was in his pick-up truck.

PDEA agents promptly subdued him when he tried to reach for his M-16 rifle instead of his driver’s license.

They recovered a plastic sachet of shabu, assorted drug paraphernalia and an M-16 Armalite rifle during a search on Bigcas’ vehicle.

Bigcas made news last year when he was tagged in the smuggling of luxury vehicles and weapons from the United States.