Airline pilot caught selling ‘shabu’

For this pilot, there are other ways to get high.

A 40-year-old commercial pilot was arrested by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Taguig City after he was caught selling methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” to an undercover agent, the agency said on Saturday.

Rioklyn P. Toledo, who flies a local airline and a resident of Parañaque City, was caught red-handed selling two plastic sachets of shabu weighing a little over 9 grams to a PDEA agent posing as a buyer, the PDEA said.

In a statement, PDEA Director General Jose S. Gutierrez Jr. said an entrapment operation was conducted on July 14 at about 2 a.m., when Toledo agreed to meet an undercover PDEA agent at the corner of Rizal and 29th Streets.

At a prearranged signal, agents from the PDEA Regional Office National Capital Region under Director Wilkins M. Villanueva moved in to arrest the suspect, Gutierrez said.

The agents seized a .45-cal. pistol and a Nissan Sentra Navara from the suspect, who did not resist arrest, the official said.

“Mr. Toledo reportedly supplies the needs of some of the pilots and some foreign tourists,” the PDEA said in the statement without providing details.

Toledo, who was temporarily detained at the PDEA jail facility in Quezon City, is facing charges for violation of Section 5, pertaining to the sale of dangerous drugs, of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

If convicted, he faces life imprisonment and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P10 million.

In a phone interview later yesterday, PDEA public information office chief Derrick Carreon said Toledo tested positive for shabu following his arrest, raising serious concerns about drug abuse among airline pilots.

He said a deeper investigation was needed to determine whether other pilots were using or even selling drugs.

“There’s a safety issue here. Because when you’re high on shabu, your senses are impaired already. You’re hypersensitive, so that’s dangerous for your passengers,” Carreon said. “We tend to focus on buses and other land transport, but we must keep any mode of transport drug-free.”

He declined to reveal Toledo’s employer, saying he might face legal action.

But he said commercial airlines should have clear-cut policies on drug use in the workplace, considering the risks involved.

“You cannot force a drug test. That’s where the companies should come in. It should be a policy on their part,” Carreon said.

Asked if the PDEA was probing the possible involvement of Toledo’s fellow pilots, Carreon said that angle could be pursued once the Taguig city prosecutor’s office started the preliminary investigation.