Cop, ex-cop caught in drug bust

MANILA, Philippines — Two policemen, one active and the other retired, and their companion were caught with an estimated P20,000 worth of shabu during a drug bust in Quezon City on Sunday night.

Police Officer 2 Joseph Soriano, 44; retired Senior Police Officer 1 Eduardo Valle, 53, and Don Jacy Cortez, 32, were arrested in a sting at the corner of 10th Avenue and P. Tuazon Boulevard in Cubao at around 11:35 p.m.

Soriano and Cortez are on the target list of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Soriano was recently placed on floating status at the Police Holding and Accounting Unit (PHAU) at Camp Crame after he requested early retirement due to a head injury. 

He joined the service in 1997 and was assigned to Mindanao prior to his designation at the PHAU. 

Meanwhile, at least 11 other drug suspects were arrested in separate anti-illegal drug operations in Barangays Sto. Domingo, Pasong Tamo, Commonwealth and Tatalon. 

In eastern Metro Manila, five persons were arrested in separate stings in Pasig and Mandaluyong on Sunday.

Kherbert Losaria was apprehended in Barangay Malinao, Pasig while Anthony Jimenez, Manuel Lorenzo and Lilibeth Aglubat were caught in Barangay Plainview, Mandaluyong.

Marivic Tadlama was arrested in Barangay Poblacion, also in Mandaluyong.

In Manila, Samuel Lizada, 20; Ryan Lampon, 28; Garry de Leon, 46; Anthony Panopio, 32, and Evangeline Constantino, 26, were arrested in a sting in Tondo, Manila Sunday night. – Non Alquitran, Rey Galupo