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Prevendido group decimated – Gentiles ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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ILOILO City – The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) is winning the war against illegal drugs, a confident Chief Superintendent Jose Gentiles, regional police director, declared.
“The Prevendido drug group has been decimated,” said Gentiles, even if suspected group leader Richard Prevendido remains at large.
The general believed the arrest of Prevendido’s nephew, Boni Prevendido Gregori, in Tobias Fornier, Antique Friday last week effectively crippled the group’s operation.
There was an immediate drop in the supply of shabu, claimed Gentiles.
“Automatically, there was a significant reduction in distribution. We busted the drug couriers,” he told Panay News.
Gregori, son of Barangay Captain Remia Prevendido Gregori of Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao district, was caught with eight other suspected group members. Recovered from them was shabu worth half a million pesos.
Gentiles expressed confidence on Prevendido’s arrest before the year is over. But he renewed his appeal for the suspect to just surrender voluntarily to the police.
“Do not try to fight back. Sumuko na lang siya ng tahimik,” said Gentiles.
Sources said Prevendido had been hiding in northern Iloilo and may have moved to Capiz after the arrest of his brother Abelardo, also a drug suspect, in Aug. 23 in Barangay Bakhaw.
“We are now deploying all our focus teams and intelligence personnel to monitor his whereabouts,” Gentiles said.
On Oct. 21, PDEA launched a series of antidrug operations in Barangay Bakhaw targeting Prevendido and relatives. Some P1.3-million worth of shabu was seized.
Police sources said Prevendido initially hid in his beach resort in the 1st District when the Philippine National Police launched on July 1 the Oplan Double Barrel campaign against illegal drug. He later moved to another resort in northern Iloilo.
“We believe Prevendido is still here. He’s just hiding,” said Superintendent Gilbert Gorero, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 6.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is also hot on the tracks of Prevendido. “Sooner or later pag hindi sila mag-surrender, baka madisgraysa pa sila,” said Assistant Regional Director Levi Ortiz.
The regional police office has been calling out Prevendido to surface after the surrender early last month of Jesus “Jing-jing” Espinosa Jr., ranked No. 2 in the Iloilo City Police Office – Police Station 1’s list of suspected drug personalities in the City Proper and a friend of slain suspected drug lord Melvin “Boyet” Odicta Sr.
The police and PDEA believed Prevendido was a competitor in the drug trafficking business of Odicta.
“We are calling him to surrender and we assure his safety. He would not be harmed should he surrender,” said Gorero.
In the antidrug operation in Tobias Fornier last week, operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the police also arrested Argie Elman, Crisanto Morada, Aquilino Pedrajas Jr., Aquilino Pedrajas III, Glen Pedrajas, Robert Pedrajas, Johnny Rapado, and Jona Fe Tabio./PN
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