Village chair arrested for drugs in Misamis Oriental

MANTICAO, Misamis Oriental – A village chairman from this town was arrested Sunday for alleged drug pushing, police said.

In a report, the Manticao police said Johny Denque, of Barangay Camanga, was arrested by virtue of a warrant issued by Judge Renato Arroyo of the 10th Municipal Trial Circuit Court. Denque was reportedly a “high-value” target in the war on drugs.

Police said they applied for a search warrant for Denque’s house after a test-buy confirmed that he was engaged in selling shabu.

Recovered from his house were the P200 marked money used in the test-buy, two suspected sachets of shabu and an explosive device, police said.

According to Senior Inspector James Bastatas, of the Drug Enforcement Unit in Misamis Oriental, Denque was number 4 on the list of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the province.

In Naawan, Misamis Oriental, Bastatas said they also arrested a certain Frederick Sabella for the possession of illegal drugs. The official said they seized seven sachets of suspected shabu from the suspect.

Bastatas described Sabella as an employee of the Department of Ariculture. /cbb