Drugbusters nab wanted pusher

After a month of surveillance, a notorious drug pusher and five of his cohorts were nabbed by the police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF) during a raid in Manila last Thursday.

AIDSOTF chief Director Marcelo Ele Jr. expressed confidence that the arrest of suspected big-time pusher Erikson Gariando, 31, would stop the traffic of shabu in Oro B. Strada street in Barangay Sta. Ana.

Ele said Gariando and his mother Helen Santos had been the subject of complaints received by his office in the past months. "Their involvement in the illegal drug trade was further confirmed by persistent complaints of concerned citizens in the area," said Ele.

The AIDSOTF chief dispatched a team, headed by Superintendent Arnold Aguilar, to go after Gariando and Santos, who were also listed in the order of battle of the Sta. Ana police station.

After establishing the drug-peddling network of Gariando and Santos, Aguilar applied for a search warrant before the sala of Judge Antonio Eugenio Jr. of the Manila Regional Trial Court.

The AIDSOTF team, augmented by elements of the Special Action Force (SAF), swooped down on the house of Gariando at the Roldan Compound, Oro B. Strada street and arrested the suspects.

Santos was not around during the raid.

Confiscated from Gariando was five sachets containing crystalline substance believed to be shabu.

Gariando and his cohorts were brought to the AIDSOTF headquarters at Camp Crame for booking, drug tests and medical examination.

However, Ele ordered the release of Gariando’s cohorts after testing negative for illegal drugs.

Ele said the arrest of Gariando is part of the drug supply reduction strategy, which involves launching operations at the street level. "This is not meant to reflect the inept image on the part of the local police, but to complement their effort in the conduct of barangay clearing operations," Ele said.