PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo (File photo)
MANILA – Ten members of the Drug Enforcement Group of the Philippine National Police (PDEG) have been relieved amid an ongoing investigation into an anti-drug operation in Manila that yielded nearly 1 ton of shabu and led to the arrest of a police officer last Oct. 8.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said Wednesday that among the relieved officers were some PDEG team leaders and the immediate supervisor of the suspect Master Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo Jr., a PDEG intelligence officer and the owner of Wealth and Personal Development Lending Inc. in Sta. Cruz, Manila which was raided by authorities.
They were temporarily transferred to the Personnel Holding and Accounting unit (PHAU) at Camp Crame.
“No less than the Chief PNP (Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr.) ordered to really investigate this and right now some vital information has been shared that this policeman was caught and his immediate supervisors, immediate team leaders, and other drug enforcement personnel were temporarily relieved and transferred at the PHAU of the PNP Camp Crame while the investigation is being conducted and hopefully before the end of November we will get a definite result on the investigation done by SITG,” Fajardo told reporters in an interview in Camp Crame.
Fajardo said the measure was implemented under the doctrine of command responsibility.
“We are not saying they are directly involved dito kay Mayo na nahuli po na in possession of large amounts of shabu but for transparency and accountability and command responsibility ay pansamantala silang ni-relieve sa DEG para bigyan daan yung ginagawang investigation ng SITG (We are not saying they are directly involved with Mayo, who was caught in possession of large amounts of shabu, but for transparency and accountability and command responsibility, they are being temporarily relieved from the DEG to give way to the SITG's investigation),” she stressed.
Earlier, two police sergeants assigned with the PDEG allegedly sneaked out some 42 kilos of shabu from the 990 kilos of shabu seized during the Oct. 8 operation.
PDEG chief Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo himself discovered the incident after a review of the closed circuit television camera (CCTV) footage before and after the raid at the Wealth and Personal Development Lending Inc. in Sta. Cruz, Manila which was owned by Mayo.
In the footage, a man was seen going out of the lending agency office and was later seen loading two bags inside a car.
When one of the police sergeants was asked to shed light on the incident, the cop admitted that there were 30 kilos of shabu still in their possession and that the car is owned by another PDEG operative.
When the other PDEG operative was asked to appear before the PDEG headquarters, he informed his superior instead that he would just leave the illegal drugs near Camp Crame in Quezon City.
During the inspection, it was found that there were 42 kilos left by the PDEG operative which has an estimated street value of PHP285.6 million.
Following the operation, Azurin said they would request the proper court for the immediate destruction of the confiscated illegal drugs in order to prevent any recycling attempts. (PNA)
