Three companions of Melvin Odicta, allegedly the drug lord “Dragon” (above) were arrested for unlicensed firearms, hours before Odicta was killed at the Caticlan port. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
BATANGAS CITY — Three companions of the slain couple Melvin and Meriam Odicta were arrested in the Port of Batangas here on Sunday afternoon after they yielded guns, police said on Monday.
Melvin Odicta, who was tagged by the police as the drug lord nicknamed “Dragon” operating in Western Visayas, and his wife were shot and killed by unidentified gunmen as they alighted at the Caticlan jetty port in Malay town in Aklan province early Monday. The couple came from the port of Batangas.
Supt. Barnard Danie Dasugo, Batangas City police chief, said the Odictas’ companions — Maria Victoria Laygon, Marlon Susano and Manolito Susano – failed to present documents for the three guns found in their van on Sunday afternoon.
The Toyota Grandia van of Laygon and the Susanos was accompanying another vehicle that belonged to the group of the Odicta couple.
The Odictas and their companions boarded a roll-on, roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessel bound for Caticlan at 4:25 p.m. Their vehicles were also loaded onto the vessel.
But dogs used by personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard’s K9 unit and the Batangas City police detected something in the Toyota Grandia van, prompting them to inspect it thoroughly.
They recovered three handguns – a .45, a 9mm and a .25 – so they impounded the vehicle and held Laygon, Marlon Susano and Manolito Susano for investigation.
Port of Batangas (RADYO INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
A police source, who asked not to be identified for not having been authorized to release a statement to reporters, said the Odicta couple refused to alight from the Ro-Ro vessel so they were able to continue to travel to Aklan.
“Madaming sinasabi yung mga lawyers kaya hindi sila napababa (Their lawyers were citing various laws so our law enforcers failed to convince them to alight),” said the source.
The Odictas’ three companions, however, were placed under the custody of the Batangas City police and would be charged with violation of Republic Act No. 10591 (Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act). Their vehicle was taken to the police’s Highway Patrol Group headquarters in Camp Vicente Lim in Laguna province. SFM
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