Father uses daughter to sell marijuana

Mandaue City police arrested a 52-year-old carpenter for selling marijuana in sitio Sudlon, barangay Maguikay last Tuesday evening.

The carpenter’s legal woes were aggravated after police discovered that he was using his 16-year-old daughter to sell illegal drugs.

The girl, who appears mentally handicapped, was found chained to a wooden bed during day-time.

The police arrested the father in a buy-bust operation and rescued the girl, according to Insp. Ramil Morpos, deputy chief of the Investigation, Detection and Management Branch (IMDB) of the Mandaue City Police Office.

A decoy police officer bought 10 rolled sticks of marijuana using P100 in marked money.

The transaction was channeled through the carpenter’s son-in-law.

When he received the marked money, the carpenter ordered his daughter to give the illegal drug to the poseur-buyer.

Morpos said the carpenter was using this modus operandi to avoid criminal liability because minors and those suffering from any form of mental illness are exempted from criminal liability.

The carpenter’s son-in-law of the suspect evaded arrest.

The father was arrested with the marked money.

“The whole family was the subject of our operation. But we didn’t expect they were using a minor in their illegal trade,” Morpos said in Cebuano.

He said police learned from neighbors that the teenage girl was chained up during the day to prevent her from leaving while most of the family members were out.

when the father, Cortes, arrives in the evening, he would unchain the girl and use her as a tindera (sales girl) to hand the illegal drugs to buyers,” he added.

Aside from the arrest and rescue of the girl, police seized as evidence the P100 marked money, 105 sticks of marijuana and one kilogram of dried leaves believed to be marijuana.

The girl was turned over to the Mandaue City Social Welfare Services (CSWS), while the father is detained in the Station 4 of the MCPO.

The father may face criminal cases for violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act (RA 9165) and a separate case for child abuse in violation of the “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act (RA 7610).

The carpenter’s son-in-law who evaded arrest will also be included in the charge.

Mandaue Mayor Jonas Cortes lauded the MCPO for Tuesday’s successful drug raid.

The mayor directed CSWS chief Violeta Cavada to take care of the mentally challenged girl. /Fe Marie M. Dumaboc and Jucell Marie P. Cuyos, Correspondents