Back to jail for gang leader; coddlers join him

A leader of a drug trafficking and gun-for-hire syndicate was rearrested by the police nearly a month after he escaped from detention.

Jamir Abdullah, 31, a resident of Maharlika Village in Taguig City, was captured by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) operatives at his gang’s hideout in Taytay, Rizal, before dawn on Thursday.

Abdullah was the leader of the Jamir Antonio Abdullah Gang, a gun-for-hire and drug trafficking group, which operated in the eastern part of Metro Manila, specifically Pasig City and the towns of Cainta and Taytay in Rizal province.

On March 1, he was arrested with two other men during a drug bust in Pasig City, leading to the seizure of P60,000 worth of drugs.

Senior Supt. Ronald Lee, CIDG National Capital Region chief, said that a manhunt was launched for Abdullah after he escaped from detention several days later.

At 2 a.m. on Thursday, CIDG operatives raided the gang’s safe house at Lupang Arenda in Barangay Sta. Ana, Taytay, Rizal.

Six men were arrested while several sachets containing 10 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu,” drug paraphernalia, a .38-cal. revolver, a .43-cal. pistol, a hand grenade, ammunition and a motorcycle were seized.

Abdullah tried to escape through the roof and hide in the house nearby of his relatives, Erlinda Yanson and her husband Bobby, but the police caught up with him.

Lee said the couple were also arrested for harboring a fugitive inside their home and for possession of illegal drugs.