BATANGAS CITY, Philippines – (UPDATE) The bodies of an allegedly notorious drug dealer and two of his couriers were found with gunshot wounds at El Puerto Real Subdivision in this city early Thursday, police said.
Senior Inspector Mario Alvarez, Batangas police chief investigator, said the victims were identified through their driver’s licenses and identification cards as Erickson Villena, 30, Ryan Lopez, 27, and Robert Dee.
Superintendent George Dadulo, Batangas City police chief, said Dee was No. 4 on the local police’s Top 10 list of suspected drug personalities while Villena and Lopez were allegedly drug pushers working for Dee.
Dadulo said they could not yet conclude that the killings were drug related.
He said the bodies were discovered at 2:25 a.m. Thursday by a subdivision resident who reported it to the barangay (village) captain, Victor Magpulhin, who in turn called the police.
Villena and Lopez were found inside a Toyota Corolla with license plate number PMF 128 while Dee was found near the vehicle.
The three had multiple bullet wounds, Alvarez said.