‘Top drug pusher’ in Mati City killed in shootout — police

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / ARNOLD ALMACEN)

TAGUM CITY — The alleged top drug pusher in Mati City was killed early Tuesday when he reportedly tried to shoot at arresting lawmen, police said.
Senior Supt. Harry Espela, Davao Oriental police chief, identified the fatality as Macabuat Jabay of Barangay Central, Mati City.

Espela said Jabay was shot inside his house at Sitio (sub-village) Lower Salazar while attempting to shoot policemen led by members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) at about 6 a.m.

“Our police were about to implement a search warrant against (Jabay) when he pulled a gun and tried to shoot the officers,” Espela told the Inquirer.

Jabay was wounded and was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival, he added.

According to Espela, Jabay was a “high-value target” tagged as the top shabu distributor in Mati and neighboring towns.

Seven others, including a former barangay chief in Tarragona town identified as Boboy Masagnay, were arrested during the raid, Espela said. They are being investigated for possible drug links, he added.

Recovered at the scene of incident were a cal.-38 revolver believed to be owned by Jabay, several sachets of suspected shabu, and drug paraphernalia.

Last week, a policeman was caught with two other men during a drug bust in Mati.

PO1 Kenneth Casane was disarmed, detained and slapped with administrative and criminal charges after he was arrested with Ricky Masisay and Jomaira Espina in a buy-bust operation, Espela said. CBB