ILOILO City – A former policeman and a suspected accomplice were arrested in a drug buy-bust operation in Barangay San Pedro, Molo district.
Joel Destacamento, 55, was a resident of Barangay Veterans Village, City Proper while Francisco Tañedo, 57, was from Barangay Housing, Mandurriao district.
Police said Destacamento and Tañedo sold suspected shabu to an undercover police officer of the Police Regional Office 6‘s (PRO-6) Regional Drug Enforcement Unit (RDEU) for P17,000 around 9:29 p.m. on Sept. 20.
Recovered for the suspects were a sachet of suspected shabu weighing about 2.8 grams and valued at around P30,000.
Prior to the operation, the suspects were placed under surveillance, said PRO-6 spokesperson Police Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong.
Destacamento – a “high-value” target – was the primary subject of the operation. He was a former investigator of the La Paz police station. His last assignment was at the Iloilo Provincial Police Office as desk officer.
In 2005, he went on absent without leave.
“This is a stern warning. The PRO-6 will run after high-value personalities, either active or former police personnel. We are really serious of our campaign against high value personalities,” said Malong./PN
