Alleged drug lord falls in Caloocan

MANILA, Philippines - A 28-year-old alleged drug lord, who is on three police watchlists, was arrested in Caloocan City on Dec. 23, an official said yesterday.

Ron Oliver de Guzman, whose street name is “Hooker,” reportedly also leads a street gang whose members have been terrorizing Bagong Barrio for the past two years, city police chief Senior Superintendent Bartolome Bustamante said.

Police officers from the Caloocan police, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Northern Police District arrested De Guzman in front of a fastfood restaurant in Monumento and confiscated 25 grams of shabu, which has a street value of P295,000.

Bustamante, who used to head the CIDG’s special operations unit, said De Guzman had been on the watchlist of his former unit, the Caloocan police and Camp Crame’s “Coplan Granger.”

De Guzman was previously charged with possession of illegal drugs, illegal possession of firearms and is accused of killing a Quezon City policeman, he said.

Police officers received a tip that De Guzman was about to deliver the shabu to a buyer in the fastfood restaurant when he was arrested, according to Bustamante, who added that the suspect reportedly offered P300,000 to the police officers “to let him go.” 

De Guzman denied allegations that he was the main supplier of shabu in Bagong Barrio, saying he was only a courier, Bustamante said.

Rising notoriety

A source told The STAR that De Guzman was just an ordinary out-of-school youth who gained notoriety by leading a small gang in Bagong Barrio. 

He said the suspect was initially involved in petty crimes until he “got connected” to a drug syndicate.

“His connections are well placed. How can a 28-year-old jobless man manage to live a relatively good life? He is considered the godfather of the Demon Gang,” the source said. 

The Demon Gang’s brawls with its rival, the Sawako Gang, have claimed at least seven lives since 2013, the source said.

Another source said De Guzman reportedly paid a lawyer P200,000 on Dec. 25 to accept his case and “make sure he goes out on bail.”

However, Bustamante said it will take a miracle for De Guzman to get out on bail because he was arrested on a drug charge, which is a non-bailable offense.