Man on drug watch list, 1 other shot dead in Iligan City

ILIGAN CITY – A man who was previously arrested over his alleged involvement in the drug trade here and his companion were shot dead by a still unidentified suspect on Monday.

Senior Inspector Felix Rabago, the chief of the city police’s Station 1, said Richie Luna alias Itching, a resident of Barangay Tubod, was on an owner-type jeep being driven by Najeeb Mapandi, reportedly the village chair of Bagoaingud in Ditsaan Ramain in Lanao del Sur, in Barangay Del Carmen when attacked.

He said the gunman, who wore a face mask, pumped bullets on Luna and Mapandi before fleeing.

Witnesses said they saw the gunman flee on a motorbike driven by another man.

Rabago said based on their record, Luna had been on the police’s drug watch list since 2016.

Last year, he was arrested during an anti-drug operation but was subsequently freed without being charged for lack of evidence. /je