INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
LUCENA CITY — Another policeman was collared early Saturday, Feb. 11, along with his two associates in a drug buy-bust operation in Calamba City, Laguna.
Police arrested at 12:37 a.m. Staff Sergeant Benhur Verdera, chief warrant officer at Liliw town police station; Kevin John Ballos; and Alejandro Mane, after they sold shabu worth P1,000 to a poseur buyer in Barangay 1.
Authorities confiscated from the suspects three plastic sachets of shabu with an estimated Dangerous Drugs Board value of P40,800. Also seized were Verdera’s police identification card and loaded service firearm.
The police classified Verdera as a “high-value individual” in the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign, while Balllos and Mane were identified drug pushers in the city.
The suspects were detained and are facing a complaint for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
On Feb. 1, authorities caught three cops assigned to Dasmariñas City, Cavite police drug enforcement unit and their civilian partner with P1.4 million worth of shabu in a sting operation.
The arrest prompted Brigadier General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., commander of Police Region 4A, to investigate the extent of police involvement in the illegal drug trade in the region.
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