Cops kill ‘thief,’ drug suspect in Laguna, Cavite

SAN PEDRO CITY – Two men, allegedly a thief and an illegal drug peddler, died in separate firefights with the police in Laguna and Cavite provinces.

In Laguna, the shootout happened around 1 a.m. Thursday in Barangay (village) Pulo in Cabuyao City. This was just hours after a woman, identified as Joy Nadera, sought police help against a man who snatched her bag.

When found, the unidentified suspect reportedly fought back prompting the policemen to shoot him down, a Calabarzon police report said.

Investigators recovered a caliber .38 gun as well as Nadera’s bag.

In General Mariano Alvarez town in Cavite, Jimmy Balano was killed around 9 p.m. on Wednesday after he sold a sachet of suspected “shabu” (crystal meth) worth P400 to an undercover policeman in Barangay F. Reyes.

When the police introduced himself to effect the arrest, Balano allegedly grabbed a gun placed on a table near him and fired. The police shot back and killed him.

In another anti-drug operation in Calamba City, Laguna, the police arrested 16 people in an alleged drug den in Barangay Parian before midnight on Wednesday.

A city police report said they recovered eight sachets of suspected shabu worth around P4,000.

Arrested were Adrian Palad, Reynosa Manrilla, Rico Cahilig, Jerico Selahe, Saulo Sagun, Glen Aquino, Erik Aquino, Roniel Mecosa, Ireneo Boiser, Neo Mance, Arnel Capili, Fidel Alcaide, Eugenio Ybuan Jr., William Monteroso, Chistoper Parjan, and Leonora Balicuro.