Suspects released; Substance not Ecstasy

A FASHION designer and three of his staff were released by the Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Force Group (RAIDSOTFG-7) in Central Visayas after tests showed that the tablets in their possession were not Ecstasy or any substance classified as an illegal drug.

Fashion designer Ivan Belocura, his staffers Junie Ignacio, Glenn Libradilla, and Ryan Dumago were released by RAIDSOTFG-7 yesterday morning.

Results from Camp Crame’s crime lab showed that the substance taken from them tested negative for Ecstasy.

The tablets also tested negative for cocaine and shabu.

Senior Insp. Hendrix Bancoleta said Belocura’s group had to be detained pending results of the laboratory tests which were first done in the Regional Crime Laboratory and then verified at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Bancoleta said they will forward the results to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and to the Dangerous Drugs Board for study.

He said the substance may be something new and may be included as one of the dangerous drugs.

Belocura and his staff were fetched by their friends and families and their belongings were returned to them.

Bancoleta said police have the identity of the dealer of the substance and are doing surveillance of its distribution here in Cebu.

“We really believed the substance was Ecstasy since the buying and selling was done discreetly. We think Belocura and company were fooled by the dealer and we admit that we were fooled too,” Bancoleta said.

In a previous investigation, Bancoleta said that Belocura and company admitted they were using ecstasy.

When asked how they felt after using it, the group said they experienced a sense of calm, which is the opposite effect of real Ecstasy, Bancoleta said.

Libradilla, who stood as a spokesperson for the group, said they knew they didn’t do anything wrong.

“The investigation went well, and we knew we did not do anything wrong. We are thankful to our friends and families who were there for us. And now we know who our friends are. We ask the public to not judge us because we are clean. We want to have our normal lives back,” Libradilla said.