"Drug dealer" slain during police raid

ORMOC CITY, Philippines  — An allegedly major drug dealer in this city was killed during a raid by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group mid-morning yesterday at Barangay Tambulilid, in coordination with the Ormoc City Police Office and the Regional Anti-Drug Special Operations Task Group.

The fatality was identified as Mona "Simban" Limbona who reportedly tried to escape from the raiding team.

Senior Superintendent Ferdinand Garay, Ormoc City Police director, said a blocking force cornered the fleeing Simban, as he was popularly known, who in turn started firing at the police, who were forced to shoot him in return.

Retrieved from Simban’s possession was a 9-mm handgun with five bullets, and two medium-sized sachets of shabu, estimated to have a street value of P 30,000.

Garay said he ordered the police to bring Simban's body to the Ormoc District Hospital. Personnel of the Scene of the Crime Operations, on the other hand, were still processing the crime scene and it was not clear yet if the police would conduct an autopsy on Simban's body.

Barangay Councilman Allan Sabino, a witness in the raid who went to the hospital, confirmed to The FREEMAN that the slain man was indeed Simban.

Three other known minions of Simban were also arrested, while six minor girls were brought into the custody of the social welfare office. The police believed some of them were Simban's “wives,” but Sabino said they were just “helpers.”

The CIDG also recovered from Simban’s hideout two more handguns, a .45-caliber gun, a .38-caliber revolver, 19 bullets and paraphernalia used in the drug trade.

The raid was conducted with a search warrant issued to the CIDG by the Regional Trial Court-Tacloban executive Judge Alphinor Serrano.

Chief Inspector Teodulo Armada, acting CIDG chief of Ormoc and concurrently regional deputy commander, said he was “very happy” the anti-drug raid was successful this time.

Simban eluded arrest during a previous raid by the CIDG, which nabbed instead a drug "guest" Kerwin Espinoza for allegedly carrying a grenade.

Espinoza was allegedly the region’s biggest drug dealer, but the CIDG failed to pin him down in court, after the arresting policeman did not sign the arrest affidavit.  (FREEMAN)