4 nabbed in Misamis Occidental drug bust

MANILA, Philippines - Four persons, including an active cop and a dismissed policeman, were arrested by anti-narcotics operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency during a buy-bust operation in Misamis Occidental, the PDEA bared on Friday.

PDEA director general Arturo Cacdac Jr. identified the suspects as Police Officer 3 Wyriel Glodove, 32 , of Dulapo, Oroquieta City, and currently assigned at Oroquieta Provincial Police Office; Thomas Lumontod, 57, a watch-listed drug personality, of Lower Langcangan, and former Senior Police Officer 2 assigned at the Concepcion Municipal Police Station; Joel Sordilla, 43, drug den owner, and his 15-year old son, both residents of Purok 6, Upper Loboc, Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental.

Belated reports reaching PDEA showed that last May 12, around 4:50 p.m., anti-narcotics agents conducted a sting operation at Purok 6, Upper Loboc, which resulted in the arrest of the four suspects after Sordilla agreed to sell two small rectangular shape plastic sachets of suspected shabu to an undercover operative.

Glodove, Lumontod and the minor were caught in the act of sniffing shabu inside Sordilla’s residence doubling as a drug den, reports added.

Confiscated from the suspects were more than 50 pieces of rectangular shape plastic sachets containing white crystalline substance suspected to be methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, various drug paraphernalia, a cal.22 revolver, a cal.38 revolver, three cellular phones, a digital weighing scale, a sealer, and P300 cash in various denominations used as marked money.
         
Seized pieces of drug evidence were brought to PDEA RO10 laboratory for forensic examination, while the suspects are temporarily detained at PDEA RO 10 Satellite Office detention cell in Oroquieta City.

The minor was turned over to the Oroquieta City Social Welfare and Development Office.

Sordilla will be charged for violation of Section 5 (Sale of Dangerous Drugs), Section 6 (Maintenance of a Drug Den), Section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs), Section 12 (Possession of Equipment and Other Paraphernalia for Dangerous Drugs), Article II of RA 9165, or The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, while Glodove and Lumontod will also be charged for violation of Sections 7 (Visitors of a Drug Den), 11, 12 and Section 15 (Use of Dangerous Drugs).

A separate case for violation of RA 10591 (Illegal Possession of Firearms and Explosives), will be filed against Sordilla.