GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Two suspected drug suspects reportedly in President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s narco-list were killed in an alleged shootout with anti-drug operatives in Norala town in South Cotabato before dawn Thursday.
Senior Supt. Nestor Salcedo, South Cotabato police director, said suspects Ryan Balcarcel and Melvin Montibon were separately gunned down by police operatives after resisting arrest during a simultaneous search operation.
Armed with four search warrants issued by Judge Oscar Noel of the Regional Trial Court Branch 35 here, Salcedo said the raiding team stormed the house of Balcarcel in Purok Upper Mabuhay, Barangay San Miguel and of Montibon at Purok San Roque in Poblacion at around 4 a.m.
The search at the house of Balcarcel’s mother yielded negative and a another subject identified as Adelbert Dadivas was not around when the warrant was served at his home in Purok San Roque, Poblacion, he said.
The operation was led by elements of the Police Regional Office’12 Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit and backed by personnel from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion and Norala municipal police station.
Salcedo said while the operatives were serving the search warrant, the suspects fired at them and attempted to escape.
He said a member of the raiding team was hit in the body but was unscathed as he was wearing a bullet-proof vest.
“This prompted the operatives to shoot the suspects to defend themselves and prevent possible harm to civilians in the vicinity,” the police official said.
Salcedo said the two were rushed to the Norala District Hospital but were declared dead upon arrival by attending doctors.
Recovered from Balcarcel’s house was a sachet of suspected metamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, a caliber .45 pistol with live ammunition, spent shells and some cash.
Montibon yielded four large sachets of suspected shabu, a homemade Ingram pistol, six empty shells and a deformed slug.
Salcedo said Balcarcel and Montibon were considered as high-value targets.
Dadivas was classified as a street level target by the Norala municipal police station.
“They were subjected to several months of intelligence operations until their illegal activities were eventually confirmed,” he said.
He added that the suspects were part of a drug group operating in parts of South Cotabato and the neighboring provinces. (Alejandro Saludo/PNA)
