‘Ex-cop,’ 3 other drug suspects killed in Quezon City

Police and unidentified gunmen killed four persons with alleged links to illegal drugs from Tuesday afternoon to early Wednesday in Quezon City.

Initial investigation by the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) revealed that all victims were either drug dependents or surrenderers under “Oplan Tokhang,” the government’s antinarcotics campaign.

Around 11:30 p.m., a man only identified by his alias “Junior” was killed in a police encounter after a supposed drug bust on E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue in Barangay (village) Tatalon.

Police said the suspect traded shots with arresting officers after a brief chase along Pulong Diablo.

Recovered from him were six sachets of suspected “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) and a .45-cal. pistol.

Gunmen also struck in several places beginning Tuesday afternoon, killing three people, including a still unidentified victim.

Marvin Diesta, 26, was reportedly walking along Commonwealth Avenue in Barangay Holy Spirit around 5:35 p.m., when an armed man shot him from behind.

The suspect reportedly boarded a gray sedan as a getaway vehicle.

Diesta’s sibling told authorities that his brother was a drug dependent.

Around 1:15 a.m. on Wednesday, a man was repeatedly shot along Mapagbigay Street in Barangay Pinyahan by still unidentified men. Five sachets of shabu were reportedly recovered from the pocket of his shorts.

Over an hour later, Arturo Patiño, 50, was slain inside his house along Ilang-Ilang Street in Barangay Payatas.

Witnesses said the suspects barged inside their home and shot him multiple times, leaving at least 20 fired cartridges in the scene.

Police said Patiño, who was reportedly a former police officer, and his wife had surrendered under Tokhang in July 2016 and was on the drug watchlist of the QCPD Batasan police station.

Their deaths raised the toll of deaths under investigation in the city to over 470.IDL