Drug dens near Camp Crame raided; 15 nabbed

A dozen drug dens just a few meters away from Camp Crame—the main headquarters of the Philippine National Police—were raided yesterday, leading to the arrest of 15 people.

Around 3 a.m. on Monday, the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operation Task Force (AIDSOTF) acted on search warrants issued by a Pasig City court and raided 12 houses allegedly being used as drug dens in Barangay (village) West Crame, San Juan City.

Initial reports said that among those arrested was PO2 Ronaldo Baltazar, assigned at the Camp Crame Support Service.

But when reached for comment, PNP spokesperson Senior Supt. Wilben Mayor said that Baltazar was not among those apprehended by the police. The policeman was earlier identified as the owner of one of the raided houses although no drugs were found on his property, he added.

Mayor said that based on the latest operation report of the PNP-AIDSOTF, only 12 of the 15 people arrested remained in the custody of the police. All 12, he told the Inquirer, were civilians.

Some of those arrested were either operators of the drug dens or caught red-handed using drugs.

Recovered from the raided houses were several sachets of suspected “shabu” (methampethamine hydrochloride) and drug paraphernalia such as tooters, pipes, lighters and improvised burners. At press time, the PNP-AIDSOTF had yet to determine the amount of drugs seized during the operation.

PNP-AIDSOTF chief Senior Supt. Antonio Gardiola said the raid took about a month to plan.

“We’ll start in our own backyard before we go to the different affected barangays,” he told reporters.

PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez, meanwhile, told the media that he has ordered his men to conduct antidrug operations down to the barangay level, whether “that’s beside Crame or anywhere else.”

“In the list of anti-illegal drug personalities, we always ask: ‘Do they have a protector [among] PNP personnel? Are they being coddled by a PNP official?’ That’s included in the list and we will account for them irrespective of who they are. We will make sure they’ll be put behind bars especially if there is sufficient evidence to do so,” Marquez said, commenting on earlier reports that among those arrested was a policeman.

Gardiola credited their close cooperation with Barangay West Crame officials for Monday’s “successful operation.”

“So we are calling on all barangay officials and residents: Do not hesitate to file complaints against the pushers in your barangays. We will go after them. Let us help each other,” he said.