Drugs angle eyed in trader’s murder

POLICE investigators are looking into business rivalry in the illegal drug trade as well as illegal gambling as possible motives in Wednesday’s killing of businessman Antonio Santos.

No suspects have been arrested yet.

The 31-year-old Santos was shot dead while driving his Honda CRV in barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City. The shooter was a passenger in his vehicle who left P73,000 in cash untouched in the victim’s pockets.

Senior Supt. Melvin Ramon Buenafe, Cebu City police chief, said illegal gambling and drugs were being looked into as motives although Santos was never arrested before on drug charges and used to run masiao and swertres operations until 2007.

Buenafe said police are also looking into Santos and the inmate he was visiting in the Cebu City Jail just before he was killed.

Inmate Ariel Degamo faces murder charges in a string of criminal cases in Bohol and in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental, including the February 2008 murder of radio broadcaster Ariel Padrigao.

Santos is a son of Pablito Santos, owner of Villa Teresita resort in Talisay City.

His father told investigators that his son was involved in the illegal numbers games masiao and suertres from 1997 to 2007.

He said he had no idea whether his son was engaged in illegal dealings after that.

Degamo was arrested in Talibon, Bohol for a frustrated murder case on March 16 this year. He also is facing two counts of illegal possession of firearms and two counts of robbery in San Miguel, Bohol. In Mindanao, Degamo was linked to Padrigao’s murder and a February 2009 robbery of a pawnshop in Misamis Oriental.

Degamo’s murder trial was moved to Cebu City by the Supreme Court last March on the request of state prosecutors last March.