ILOILO City – A police officer assigned at the Regional Headquarters Support Group of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) in Camp Delgado confessed to being a shabu peddler to further support his family.
The 41-year-old Police Officer 2 Stephen Magno of Barangay San Juan, Molo district was taken to the Arevalo police station after he was caught at around 3:35 p.m. yesterday.
According to Magno, he had two young sons to support. His wife was an overseas Filipino worker.
An “asset” of the PRO-6’s Regional Drug Enforcement Unit (RDEU) bought from Magno a sachet of shabu for P2,000 in Barangay Calaparan, Arevalo.
Thirty-three more shabu sachets valued at P70,000 were recovered from the suspect’s possession, said Senior Inspector Kennith Bermejo, RDEU chief.
“He was in our list of suspected drug personalities but as a user,” said Bermejo.
Two “positive test buys”, however, led the RDEU to suspect that Magno was also peddling shabu. A buy-bust operation was then planned.
At the Arevalo police station lockup jail, Magno told Panay News his shabu sachets came from a certain Balas of Barangay San Juan, Molo district.
He denied knowing Balas’ source but from what he had gathered, he said, the source appeared to be based in Bacolod City.
“I only deal with Balas. I don’t know who his supplier is,” said Magno.
RDEU’s Bermejo, however, believed Magno was just too scared to identify Balas’ source.
“Most of the drug suspects we arrested won’t identify their main sources. They’re afraid they would be killed,” said Bermejo.
Magno faces a charge for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
This was not the first time for Magno to have a brush with the law. He was caught with a homemade pistol inside Camp Delgado on March 5, 2017 by no less than then police regional director Chief Superintendent Jose Gentiles and was subsequently charged with illegal gun possession.
Magno was then among several policemen undergoing a Character Aptitude Development and Enforcement Training at Camp Delgado./PN
