LUCENA CITY –– Eleven alleged drug personalities were killed and 321 suspected criminals arrested in a three-day “simultaneous anti-criminality law enforcement operation” (Sacleo) in Cavite province, police said Tuesday.
Police Colonel Marlon Santos, Cavite police chief, in a report posted on Facebook by the Cavite police public information office on Monday night, identified the slain suspected drug pushers as Reymark Chaves (high-value target), Mark Anthony Lagos, Avril Castro, Christian James Pagarao, Ricky Perez, Fritz Marion Florentino, Manuel Cayas, Henry Abanilla, Jomarie Hara, and Jeffrie Cornejo. The other one is still unidentified.
The suspects were reportedly killed during gunfights with policemen when they resisted arrest in separate buy-bust operations in different parts of the province.
Authorities also collared 142 suspected drug pushers and 17 users during the synchronized operations conducted on Jan. 22 to 24.
Police seized 547 plastic sachets containing shabu (crystal meth), 31 sachets of dried marijuana leaves, an undisclosed amount of cash proceeds from the sale of an illegal substance, and assorted drug paraphernalia.
The volume of confiscated illegal drugs and their estimated street value were not specified in the report.
Also arrested during the operations were 53 wanted criminals, 14 of whom belong to the topmost felons in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region and municipal levels.
Police reportedly caught 106 violators for illegal gambling and three for possession of illegal firearms.
The arrested crime suspects were jailed.
The police seized 17 firearms – nine caliber .45 and two caliber .9mm pistols; and six caliber .38 revolvers.
Santos described the operations as a “great success” and commended the policemen involved in the campaign.
“The three-day simultaneous anti-criminality operations have reduced prevalent crimes on streets and improved public safety in the province of Cavite,” Santos said.
Sacleo replaced the police “one-time, big-time operation,” an all-out war against all local forms of criminalities in a given period.