PRO-7 director says Drug suspect’s death big blow to syndicate

CEBU, Philippines - The police have hit “a very sensitive nerve” when they raided Banacon Island in Bohol and killed one of Cebu City’s most wanted drug personalities living on the island.

Police Regional Office-7 director Patrocinio Comendador said that with Rowen Secretaria’s death, operations of the suspect’s syndicate will be temporarily paralyzed.

Although the effect would only be temporary, last Saturday’s operation is a big blow for the syndicate, said Comendador.

He said Banacon Island is a strategic place for drug smugglers since the island serves as a transshipment and drop-off point of illegal drugs.

As per intelligence reports, vessels come once in a while near the island to drop off drugs, said Comendador.

He said drug smugglers would bring drugs from Luzon, particularly Muntinlupa City, and deliver them to the island for distribution in nearby Cebu.

Comendador said the deployment of additional police forces on the island will also help thwart the syndicate’s activities.

The deployment must be sustained, he said, so that by the time police officers are pulled out from the area, more people will cooperate with the government in its anti-illegal drug campaign.

This is a challenge for the police, said Comendador, considering that Secretaria has projected a Robin Hood image in the area that somehow gained sympathy from the residents.

In fact, a minor suspected to have been induced to create stories against the police, has testified that he saw the police kill Secretaria even though the latter had raised his hands to surrender.

Comendador said they welcome any investigation into such allegations as they also conduct their own investigation into the possibility that someone persuaded the child to create such story.

Comendador further said the police know what to do in such cases and are actually in high morale following the goal of president-elect Rodrigo Duterte to neutralize pushers if they engage in a shootout with the police.

“Ang atong kapolisan is already there, they know how to do it, they know the boundaries, they know what to do. It motivates the police na mismo sa presidente maggikan ang motivation, but they must exercise good judgment,” the PRO-7 director added.

But Comendador said his thrust is “not only getting more kilos (of shabu) but getting the right target, so that the supply will crumble.”

The result of their campaign coupled with the pronouncement of Duterte against drug pushers appeared to have affected the drug trade in Cebu, added Comendador.

Superintendent Rex Derilo, chief of the Regional Intelligence Division, said their intelligence reports show that a pack of shabu is now only sold at P60.

The police said drug pushers appear to be disposing of their illegal drugs immediately, although this still needs to be validated.

For now, PRO-7 is keen on educating the population about illegal drugs.

“To address the market, we need a lot of education,” Comendador said.

In another anti-drug operation, a 19-year-old boy was arrested early Tuesday dawn at Hillside, Barangay Talamban, Cebu City.

Arrested was Mark Kevin Flores, who, according to Talamban Police Station chief Senior Inspector Perceval Miasco, is on the list of their wanted drug personalities.

Miasco said the suspect, a resident of Barangay Budlaan, has started engaging in the illegal drug trade since he was a minor.

The police seized from the suspect a big pack and another ten smaller packs of suspected shabu. — Bryner L. Diaz and Mylen P. Manto (FREEMAN)