NBI intel agent slain in drug buy-bust

MANILA, Philippines - An intelligence agent of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was gunned down during a buy-bust operation involving 300 grams of shabu worth P1 million in Marilao, Bulacan Thursday.

NBI operative Marvin Trinidad, 30, died on the spot from multiple gunshot wounds in the chest and other parts of the body.

Chief Inspector Roque Merdegia Jr., legal division chief of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF), said Trinidad yielded a .45-caliber pistol with two empty spare magazines, three plastic bags of shabu, and the P1-million “boodle” money.

Merdegia said Trinidad rode a motorcycle with no license plate.

Two of Trinidad’s companions escaped and are now the subject of a massive manhunt.

Superintendent Dominic Baccay, chief of the AIDSOTF’s Special Operations Unit 1, said Trinidad’s group was the subject of complaints by residents of Marilao and Malolos City for drug peddling and holdup and extortion cases.

The buy-bust operation took place after two weeks of negotiations between Trinidad and an AIDSOTF agent who acted as a poseur buyer.

A civilian, Jonathan Barrameda, 20, was hit by a stray bullet in the left leg during the shootout between Trinidad and AIDSOTF agents.

Merdegia said they recovered from Trinidad several identification cards under different names, including one from the NBI signed by former NBI director Nestor Mantaring.

Two license plates were also found in the toolbox of his motorcycle.