BAGUIO CITY — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Cordillera Administrative Region (PDEA-CAR) arrested a retired policeman for selling suspected “shabu” to an agent Tuesday night.
In a buy-bust operation in Laubach Road, Upper General Luna here at about 6:20 p.m., operatives arrested Carlos Salviejo Lagayan, 69, married, of Slaughter Compound.
Information provided by agents said Lagayan worked for the Narcotics Command (NarCom) in the region when he was still in active service.
Seized from him were seven sachets of suspected shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride), weighing about 10 grams, a PHP1,000 bill, and 19 PHP1,000 bills in fake money.
PDEA-CAR information officer, lawyer Frederick Joseph Calulut, said Tuesday night that Lagayan was in the watch list of the PDEA-CAR.
“He is a former policeman who is engaged in illegal drug transactions. Pusher siya. Talagang nagta-transact siya ng illegal drugs dito sa atin. Matagal na itong binabantayan (He is a pusher. He really transacts illegal drugs here in the city. For a long time, he was being watched),” he said.
Calulut said Lagayan was already convicted for violating Republic Act No. 6425, otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, while he was still in active service.
“He was previously convicted but on appeal, his case was reversed. If my memory serves me right, member pa siya ng pulis noon (he was still a policeman at that time),” Calulut added.
He said that some drug personalities had been convicted but after a reversal of their cases, they return to their illegal business.
“Bumabalik just like the suspect na nahuli ngayon. Hindi pa rin nagbago. Makikita naman natin na hindi talaga siya tumigil sa pagbebenta ng illegal drugs (They return to the illegal drug trade, just like the suspect who was arrested tonight. They do not reform. We can see that he did not stop selling illegal drugs),” Calulut said. (PNA)
