Not funny.
Finding nothing humorous about a suspected drug dealer’s reaction making light of the matter of his arrest after he was caught while allegedly carrying 10 kilograms of “shabu,” an incensed Mayor Herbert Bautista showed who was the boss in Quezon City.
Zhen Xu, 30, of Hung Nam, China, was slapped on the face twice by Bautista “to make him show respect for the law.”
The QCPD District Anti-Illegal Drugs unit apprehended the suspect after a “buy-bust” operation Friday afternoon at the parking lot of a fastfood outlet in Barangay Central where about 10 kilograms of shabu worth P15 million were confiscated from the suspect.
This was a follow-up of a police operation on Thursday in Capas, Tarlac province, conducted by the DAID Special Operations Task Group led by Senior Insp. Roberto Razon which resulted in the arrest of Ali Tocalo and his brother, a minor. The brothers pointed to Xu as their supplier.
QCPD Director Chief Supt. Richard Albano immediately informed Bautista about the arrest as part of the continuing efforts of the Quezon City Anti-Drug Abuse Advisory Council in their fight against illegal drugs.
Asked about the incident, Bautista said, “I was about to be interviewed by reporters, as the suspect got out of the car, smiling and making faces.
“After the interview, I did what I had to do to show that we mean business in Quezon City. He has to respect the law,” Bautista said.
“He (Xu) was rude. He’s a foreigner playing around with laws in the Philippines,” added Albano.
Mayor Bautista was asking Xu several questions, but the latter acted as if he didn’t understand anything, the police official said.
“The suspect was carrying 10 kilos of shabu. How many people’s lives will be ruined because of that? Even 10 slaps are not enough to pay for the crimes that will be committed under the influence of drugs,” he added.