TAG TEAM: Visayas cops link up vs drug groups in Regions 6 and 7

By Jennifer P. Rendon

 

The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) said on Monday that it has been linking up with the neighboring Central Visayas police in arresting drug group members operating in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.

Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan, PRO-6 chief, made the pronouncement following big-time police anti-narcotics operations in Negros Island.

Last week, a high value individual and two others were arrested in a buy-bust that led to the seizure of P24 million worth of suspected shabu at Barangay Handumanan, Bacolod City.

The suspects were identified as Carline Lunares, 23, her partner Nester Brinosa, 23, both residents of the said village, and Carline’s brother – Richard Lunares, 30, of Barangay Bata.

The operation came on the heels of a series of major drug recoveries here and in Negros Occidental in the past weeks.

Aside from the said operation, there was another operation wherein PRO-6 saw links of arrested suspects to personalities operating in Region 7.

“We have noticed they were also selling drugs in Region 7. We can coordinate properly in the neutralization of these groups,” Pamuspusan said.

Because of territorial boundaries, “kung minsan lumipat dito natitigil ang follow through operation ng Region 7. It is also same as our operations also – kung minsan may mga hinahabol kami na nawawala because they transferred to other regions.”

As such, “what I did is to give the regional director of PRO-7 our report and we also informed them of the involvement of some other government agencies in this drug trade as we have seen through the interrogation of these arrested suspects,” he said.

Pamuspusan did not elaborate on the government agencies involved.

From the investigation and interview of suspects in two drug operations, Pamuspusan said they learned that these two groups were distributing drugs in Regions 6 and 7.

“Pa-lipat-lipat sila. That alarmed us. We have been monitoring that if they feel the heat in Region 7, they transfer here. ‘Pag nararamdaman naman nila ang effort ng PRO-6, they transfer,” he said.

Last week, PRO-6 said that there are five active drug groups operating in Negros Occidental, to include Bacolod City, while all identified drug groups in Panay Island – the city and province of Iloilo, Antique, Aklan, Capiz, and Guimaras – have already been dismantled.

These two groups operating in both regions are part of these groups being monitored.

This could have been one of the reasons why confiscated illegal drugs in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental go by the millions while Panay has settled by the thousands.

In Panay, “walang may na/monitor that are going beyond regional boundaries. Inter-provinces lang,” Pamuspusan said.

 

HUNT FOR BOLIVAR

For now, the PRO-6 could not also say if Ernesto “Erning” Bolivar remains the top drug personality of the region.

“As to Bolivar, up to now we are trying to establish linkages with other regions. We still believed he is lying low. He’s maintaining his trade through links in the region. That’s why we need to help other regions,” Pamuspusan said.

Anyone who could be considered as the top drug personality remains liquid.

“We couldn’t establish now. The big groups that have been known before disintegrated into splinter groups. We can’t say who are controlling the illegal drug activities. The trade goes but these raw managed by small groups na lang,” he said.

He said most drug groups now are not as established or as organized as before.

These groups could only have three members, but they have a lot of runners, pushers,

”in fact, these groups share pushers. That’s how it works now. Hindi na kagaya noon,” he said.

That’s why, Pamuspusan said every arrest is important, as this is where they got their intelligence information on how big-time drug groups work.