MANTICAO, MISAMIS ORIENTAL – A drug suspect was killed while a policeman was wounded in a dawn raid in Purok Paradise 2, Barangay Cabalantian here Wednesday, July 10.
Police Captain James Bastatas, head of the police’s Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU)—Misamis Oriental West, identified the suspect as Ariel Macas, a resident of Cagayan de Oro City but is renting a house here.
Bastatas said Macas has been staying with his live-in partner at the rented house at the back of the national high school for three months now.
PDEU operatives and Manticao police were serving a search warrant on Macas’ rented house when the suspect opened fire upon seeing the law enforcers.
Macas’ shot hit Patrolman George Sordillo of the PDEU on his left hand, but he was eventually killed when the authorities fired back, according to Bastatas.
The search warrant was issued by Judge Renato Arroyo of the 10th Municipal Trial Circuit Court in Manticao.
Bastatas said Macas was in the police’s list of drug personalities, and have been previously jailed for a drug case, but his prison stay was cut after availing himself of a plea bargaining a few months ago.
When searched, Macas’ house yielded seven sachets of a crystalline substance believed to be shabu, drug paraphernalia, and ammunition.
Scene of crime operatives also recovered the caliber .38 gun that the suspect used in shooting the police, a cartridge, several ammunition, drug paraphernalia, and cash worth P45,000.
The wounded policeman was rushed to a hospital for treatment. (Editor: Leti Boniol)