Drug pusher killed in alleged shootout in Quezon buy-bust

LUCENA CITY – A drug pusher was shot and killed when he allegedly engaged policemen in an exchange of gunfire in a buy-bust operation in this city early morning Tuesday.

Florante Garcera, 38, who was included in the police drug watch list, drew his caliber .45 pistol and shot but missed hitting the police officer who acted as buyer in Barangay Ibabang Iyam around 5 a.m., according to Supt. Vicente Cabatingan, Lucena police chief.

Garcera suffered fatal bullet wounds after police fired back. He was rushed to Quezon Medical Center but was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

Authorities reportedly found in Garcera’s possession, 12 plastic sachets of crystal meth or shabu, (quantity not reported), and a digital weighing scale.

“He (Garcera) was the supplier of shabu to addicts in his place and also in other areas around the city,” Cabatingan said in a phone interview.

Garcera’s four other associates were also arrested in simultaneous operations in Barangay Ibabang Iyam.

Arrested were Joseph Ramos, Michael Maranan, Pablito Periña and Agosto Ramos.

The four yielded a total of seven grams of shabu worth P42,000 in the street market and assorted drug paraphernalia.

Drug syndicates were supplying firearms to some of their peddlers for protection aside from free supplies of shabu for personal use as incentives, police said.

In another buy-bust operation, the Quezon provincial police drug enforcement unit busted another major supplier of shabu in this city.

Anti-illegal drugs operatives arrested Napthali Manguerra Gube, 55, inside one of the rooms at Hotel South Red Palm in Barangay Isabang around 3:20 a.m Tuesday, said Quezon police director Senior Supt. Rhoderick Armamento.

Police seized five sachets of shabu weighing 21.58 grams worth P129,480 in the street market and a digital weighing scale, a report said.