3 Brothers die in Binondo as ‘shabu’ bust leads to shoot-out

GETTING THEM IN LINE Police round up suspected drug addicts in Manila on Thursday. RICHARD A. REYES

Three brothers accused of being in the drug trade were killed in an alleged shoot-out with the police inside their house in Binondo, Manila, on Thursday.

Case investigator SPO1 Lester Evangelista identified the dead as Armand Morales, 26; his brothers Dominador, 28; and JC, 33.  The siblings died on the spot.

According to Evangelista, Armand alias Boljak was selling “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) to an undercover policeman outside his house on San Miguel Road, Binondo, when he sensed he was about to be arrested.

“So he ran inside the house but the policemen followed him,” Evangelista said.

Once inside the house, Dominador fired at the uniformed men from the Manila Police District’s Station 11. His two brothers who were both armed with .38-cal. revolvers joined in the shoot-out, prompting the policemen to retaliate.

Evangelista said the police have yet to determine the amount of shabu recovered from Armand and his brothers who allegedly were known in the area as drug pushers.