DOJ orders probe on drug lords operations in Cebu jail

By Benjamin Pulta/ PNA

MANILA — The Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered prison officials to look into the operations of drug lords continuing with their trade by communicating with cohorts outside jails.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters Monday that the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have been directed to look into drug ring operations run from inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) using the Internet.

“I will direct the NBI and BuCor to immediately investigate the matter,” Guevarra told reporters after Cebu police discovered that a drug ring in their province is being run by Rustico Ygot, an inmate from the NBP.

The Philippine National Police conducted twin operations in Cebu over the weekend and yielded over PHP190-million worth of shabu.

Ygot was giving instructions to his girlfriend, Jocelyn Encilla, in a house that is wired with closed circuit television (CCTV) which the former can access through the Internet from prison.

Last year, the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Kidnapping Group discovered that Tyrone dela Cruz, who has been detained at the NBP since December 2017, negotiated for the PHP15-million ransom payment in exchange for the release of a Chinese businessman abducted in Laguna.

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