Another drug peddler killed in drug sting

By: Jennifer P. Rendon 

ANOTHER one bites the dust.

A suspected drug peddler was killed after he allegedly put up a fight with police officers during an anti-narcotics operation morning of June 12, 2019.

The incident happened inside the house of the suspect, 37-year-old, Jovani Mejica, at Block 10, Lot 5, Imperial VI Subdivision in Barangay Guzman-Jesena, Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

Members of the Mandurriao Police Station and the Iloilo City Police Office-City Drug Enforcement Unit (ICPO-CDEU) planned the bust following reports that Mejica was peddling drugs in his neighborhood.

Police Major Marlon Valencia, Mandurriao police chief, said Mejica was categorized as high value target (HVT) Level 1 drug personality even if he was a newly identified personality.

The exchange of fire between Mejica and the police operatives took place after he handed a sachet of suspected shabu worth P30,000 to a police poseur buyer, who was accompanied by a confidential agent.

When police back-up entered the house to arrest Mejica, he allegedly pulled a gun and shot the officer.

Luckily, the back-up cop wore a bullet-proof vest which stopped the bullet.

Mejica immediately retreated inside a room where he allegedly kept a hand grenade.

But before he could even reach out for the explosive, police gunned him down.

Mejica was brought to the nearby Western Visayas Medical Center where he was declared dead on arrival.

In a subsequent search at the suspect’s house, police recovered around 49 sachets of shabu.

Valencia said they have yet to determine the street value of the seized drugs.