PNP:  Seizure of P88M shabu shows Leyte town mayor knew of son’s drug trade

Police seized P88M worth of shabu inside the house of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Leyte. (Photo by ROBERT DEJON/INQUIRER VISAYAS)

ALBUERA, Leyte – A ranking official of the Eastern Visayas police said on Wednesday that the 11 kilos of shabu worth P88 million that were seized inside the house of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., only showed that he knew of his son’s illegal operation, contrary to his claims he did not.

Senior Supt. Allan Cuevilla, police deputy director for operations of the Philippine National Police in Eastern Visayas, said the items recovered from the mayor’s residence showed that the elder Espinosa not only knew of his son Kerwin Espinosa’s illegal drug operations, he was involved in it, too.

The joint teams of police also recovered components to create improvised explosives and an improvised claymore bomb.

Members of the Regional Public Safety Battalions helped in the raid of the house of Espinosa at Sitio Tinago, Barangay Benolho, an interior village about 250 meters from the main road.

It was the biggest haul of shabu in Eastern Visayas, where the shabu distribution was said to be controlled by the mayor’s son, Kerwin.

Aside from shabu, bomb-making materials were found by the police inside the house of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. of Leyte. (Photo by ROBERT DEJON/INQUIRER VISAYAS)

Days ago, the elder Espinosa surrendered to PNP Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, the Philippine National Police chief, on Aug. 2 before the lapse of the 24-hour deadline set by President Duterte for him and his son to surrender or a shoot-on-sight order would be issued against them.

He denied that he was part of his son’s illegal drugs operations and tearfully appealed to Kerwin to surrender.

The elder Espinosa and his family stayed at the “White House,” Dela Rosa’s official residence until Aug. 6, when he went to Cebu City and had himself confined in a suite room of a private hospital.

The house was empty when the policemen from the  the RPSB, Albuera police and the Leyte Provincial Police Office conducted the raid about 6 a.m. on Wednesday.

The operatives found 11 packs of high grade shabu, components for improvised bombs and improvised claymore bomb inside the cabinet under the kitchen sink.

The packs of shabu were placed inside a white plastic bag.  SFM