ILOILO CITY – – An ex-convict released five days ago was killed in a buy-bust operation late night Sunday at Zone 3, Tacas village, Jaro, Iloilo City, police said Monday
Police Senior Insp. Kennith Bermejo, team leader of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit in Western Visayas (RDEU-6), said drug suspect Gabriel Poblacion, 34, succumbed to three gunshot wounds.
Bermejo said the suspect fired at them when they were about to arrest him after he sold two plastic sachets containing suspected shabu (crystal meth) to an undercover police operative.
“He fired twice,” Bermejo said in an interview, adding that it prompted one of their operatives to retaliate and kill the suspect.
Aside from the two sachets of suspected shabu, Bermejo said they also recovered 20 more sachets of suspected shabu, all with an estimated value of PHP50,000 to PHP60,000.
They also recovered from the crime scene a .38 caliber revolver and a hand grenade.
Bermejo said Poblacion is an ex-convict and was released from prison five days ago for his robbery with homicide case.
He was jailed at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) – Iloilo City District Jail (Male Dormitory) in Barangay Ungka, Jaro, Iloilo City.
“He was a former member of Poblacion group doing robbery but he later shifted to dealing of illegal drugs,” he said.
“He is in our drug-watchlist as newly-identified drug suspect,” he added.
Last week, a high-value target drug suspect was also killed in a buy-bust operation in Pavia, Iloilo after he reportedly fired shots at the operatives. (Cindy Ferrer/PNA)
