Drug pushers eyed in Makati grenade blast

MANILA, Philippines - Makati City police are eyeing the involvement of drug pushers in a grenade blast that rocked Barangay Rizal at past midnight yesterday.

Acting city police chief Superintendent Jaime Santos said they have been receiving reports that increased foot patrols by police officers have disrupted the local trade in illegal drugs, which may have irked local pushers.

“We have received a tip from informants that the drug pushers have find it more difficult to operate with the presence of our foot patrols in the area,” he said.

Santos said a grenade exploded along Rose street at around 1:30 a.m., just minutes after the police patrol team left for nearby Barangay Comembo. The explosion left a crater four inches deep and shrapnel hit the gates of several houses and at least five cars parked on the street.

“If it was meant for a particular target, it should have exploded inside one the houses’ gates and not on the street,” he said.

Santos said there were no reported injuries in the blast. Investigators have yet to determine type of grenade was used.

He said investigators are checking whether local drug pushers could be arming themselves with grenade and high-powered firearms with the help of either contacts outside the city. The grenade in yesterday’s blast may have also been sourced from nearby barangays where majority of residents are soldiers, according to Santos.