Alleged local drug ring leader, 4 others killed in Negros Occ. drug ops

BACOLOD CITY – Five drug suspects were killed, four of them in a brief gun battle with policemen, in Negros Occidental early Monday morning.

One of the four drug suspects killed during a buy-bust operation in Hacienda Bariw, Brgy. Santa Teresa, Manapla, Negros Occidental, was identified by police as Alson Aguirre, an alleged elusive local drug group leader.

Sr. Supt. Romeo Baleros, Negros Occidental provincial police OIC, said Manapla police operatives assisted by the NOCPPO Provincial Mobile Force Company and Special Action Battalion (SAB) 6, recovered from the suspects an M-16 assault rifle, two .45 caliber pistols, a .38 caliber revolver, a .45 caliber Grease gun, and a fragmentation grenade.

Baleros also reported that the buy-bust operation yielded suspected shabu.

The identities of three other drug suspects and their arrested companion, who served as a look-out of the group, were not yet available, as of press time.

Baleros described the group as armed and dangerous, who might be used by desperate politicians during the May 13 elections.

The firefight between the armed group and policemen lasted for about two to three minutes. It took place after Aguirre noticed that he was transacting with a police poseur-buyer, Baleros said.

Manapla police chief Sr. Insp. Julius Caesar Colado, who led the buy-bust operation, on Monday described Aguirre as a “Robin Hood” in the hacienda, allegedly providing for residents their basic needs in order to get their loyalty.

Meanwhile, an unidentified gunman also shot and killed an alleged drug suspect on Sunday in Brgy. Rizal, Sagay City, Negros Occidental.

Police identified the victim as Stephen Emnace, who succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds and declared dead on arrival at the Lopez District Foundation Hospital in Sagay City, Chief Insp. Antonio Benitez, city police officer-in-charge, said.

Sagay City police said the gunman disembarked from a motorcycle he was riding on and shot Emnace, who was about to close the gate of his residence.

Sagay police recovered four fired cartridges of a .45 caliber pistol at the scene of incident.

Benitez disclosed that Emnace had been included in the drug watch list of the Sagay City Police Station.

He raised the possibility that the killing of Emnace was related to illegal drugs, as the victim may have been suspected as behind the arrest of another drug suspect, who is affiliated to another drug group.

According to police, Emnace is affiliated with a drug group operating in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.

The gunman, who was wearing a black jacket, fled on board a red Honda XRM motorcycle.

In the past two months, four drug suspects were also gunned down by still unidentified suspects the cities of San Carlos, Kabankalan, and Hinigaran in Negros Occidental. /kga