MANILA: Police raided yesterday afternoon the house of two suspected big-time drug smugglers and seized more than P3 million worth of illegal drugs in Barangay Pitalo, San Fernando.
Ruel Garces and Leonardo Gesnan, however, evaded operatives of the San Fernando Police Station, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 and Cebu City Police Office-City Intelligence Branch (CIB).
The joint raiding team seized 13 big packs of suspected shabu, a shotgun, two .22 firearms, three shotgun bullets and three stolen motorcycles. The drugs could have fetched P3.8 million in street sales, police estimated.
Supt. Romeo Santander, CIB chief, said the two suspects are level-one drug pushers who can dispose of more than 100 grams of shabu per week.
“They are in the list of drug personalities,” he said in a phone interview.
Santander said their operation against Garces and Gesnan came after their arrest of Genes Joven Ermitanio in Cebu City last Oct. 31.
During an interview with investigators, Ermitanio divulged that he sourced his shabu from Garces and Gesnan.
CIB operatives confiscated P11.8 million worth of shabu from Ermitanio in Barangay Labangon.
A court convicted Ermitanio of robbery in 2013. The police had arrested him after he was identified as part of a motorcycle-riding robbery group operating in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.
Santander said when the police checked court records, they learned that Garces has a pending arrest warrant from the Regional Trial Court Branch 57 for allegedly selling illegal drugs.
The police official said it was possible that leaked information led to the escape of Garces and Gesnan.
He added that the arrest of the suspects could have led the police to identify the person who may be the biggest supplier of illegal drugs in Cebu.
“We are digging deep in our investigation,” said Santander. “We are on the right path. It (anti-illegal drug operations) needs patience.”
The police will still file complaints against Gesnan and Garces for violating Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002), illegal possession of firearms and ammunitions and car theft.
