Slain drug suspect linked to Moynihan murder

MANILA, Philippines - A suspected pusher, killed in a sting over the weekend, was a person of interest in the killing of actress Maritoni Fernandez’s sister, Aurora Maria Moynihan, an official confirmed yesterday.

Leandro Antonio Kanahashi, 33, was an ex-boyfriend of Moynihan, who was shot dead and left along Temple Drive in Barangay Ugong Norte last month, said Senior Superintendent Guillermo Eleazar, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) chief.

Moynihan’s family confirmed that she and Kanahashi had been in a relationship, he said.

Kanahashi was reportedly a “higher than street-level” drug dealer who sold shabu and party drugs, Eleazar said.

Moynihan was tagged as a drug pusher to celebrities in a placard left by her killers.

Kanahashi, alias LA, and his still unidentified cohort were killed after they allegedly shot at police officers during a sting along Mapagkumbaba street in Barangay Botocan on Sunday.

He was reportedly one of the last persons to whom Moynihan sent a text message before she was slain, Eleazar said.

Suspicious messages – possibly indicating drug deals – were also supposedly found on Moynihan’s phone.

Moynihan had allegedly served as a middleman for Kanahashi’s drug transactions, according to information gathered by police officers.

Moynihan was put on the drug watchlist of the Taguig police after she was arrested in 2013 in a drug den in Barangay Sta. Ana.

Police said a .40 caliber handgun was used in killing Moynihan, the same type of weapon recovered from Kanahashi when he was neutralized.

However, ballistics test results have yet to be released.

The sting was conducted to arrest Kanahashi because of his alleged drug deals, not in connection with Moynihan’s killing, said Superintendent Wilfredo Tul-O, QCPD anti-illegal drug unit chief.

Police Officer 2 Julius Albao was hit in the left hand during the shootout with Kanahashi and his cohort.