Alleged drug ring leader, 5 others nabbed in Santiago City, Isabela

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)

MANILA, Philippines—Six people, including an alleged drug group leader, have been arrested in Isabela province by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, an official said Wednesday.

In a belated report, PDEA Director General Undersecretary Arturo Cacdac Jr. identified the arrested suspects as Roderick “Erick” de la Cruz, 31, the alleged leader of the de la Cruz Drug Group; Carlo Corpuz, 35; Modesto “Billy” Cajas Jr., 41; Tristan “Tan” de Leon, 26; Regina “Dugang” Ariola, 37; and Benedict Jacinto, 41.

Cacdac said de la Cruz, who ranks ninth in the agency’s list of drug personalities, was arrested by combined operatives of PDEA and the National Bureau of Investigation inside his residence on Rufino Roque Village, Sitio (sub-village) Quirat, Barangay (village) Rizal in Santiago City last Sunday, where Corpuz, Cajas and de Leon were allegedly caught in the act sniffing shabu.

Ten sachets of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu,” he said, were also recovered from de la Cruz’ house that is also allegedly being used as a drug den.

Meanwhile, 10 more plastic sachets of shabu, 20 empty sachets containing shabu residue, a mobile phone, and cash amounting to P27,000, were likewise confiscated from Ariola and Jacinto during a separate search warrant operation, also in Rizal village, Cacdac said.

De la Cruz is facing charges for violation of Article II, Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, particularly Section  6 (Maintenance of a Den), Section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs) and Section 12 (Possession of Paraphernalia for Dangerous Drugs).

Corpuz, Cajas and de Leon, on the other hand, will be charged with visiting a drug den (Section 7) and use of dangerous drugs (Section 15), while Ariola and Jacinto were charged in court with violation of Section 11.