2 killed, student arrested in Tacloban anti-drug raid

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte—Two men were killed while another was arrested in a buy-bust operation by members of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit here in the city Tuesday afternoon.

Inspector Jessica Ortega, Tacloban city police information officer, identified the fatalities as Kenneth Bertes and Aldrin Iriete.

Arrested during the 2:38 p.m. anti-drug operation on 4th Street, Barangay (village) 59-A, Sampaguita area, was Al Carrie Trono, a 24-year-old student.

Ortega said that an asset bought a sachet of shabu worth P500 from Trono outside a boarding house where the suspects lived.

Trono, who was about to be arrested, ran inside the boarding house where Bertes and Iriete were also in at the time of the incident.

This resulted in a firefight as the two, who were said not to be residents of the village, reportedly fired back using their revolver-type guns against the police.

The firefight resulted in the death of Bertes and Iriete, Ortega said.

Aside from the two guns, also recovered inside the room where the two victims were killed were 22 sachets of shabu. IDL