LUPAO, Nueva Ecija — Three barangay officials, including a village chair, who in no. 3 in town’s watchlist, were arrested Saturday in intensified operations against illegal drugs in this northern most Nueva Ecija municipality, police reported on Sunday.
The arrests happened a few days after President Rodrigo Duterte disclosed in a speech in Cabanatuan City that the 6,000 people in his narco list were mostly barangay captains and include drug lords from this province.
Drug lords from Nueva Ecija, President Duterte said would be added “to greenery in memorial (parks)” in due time.
Senior Superintendent Antonio Yarra, provincial police director, identified the arrested village officials as barangay chairman Lou Salvador, 50; councilman Jonathan Sinagose, 45, both of Poblacion West and barangay councilor Joven Dadag, 50, of Mapangpang.
Dadag was ranked no. 1 and Sinagose no. 2 in local police list, Yarra said.
Salvador and Sinagose yielded one sachet of shabu each while operatives recovered two sachets from Dadag.
Police also recovered from Sinagose 27 bullets for cal 22.
Yarra said operatives led by Chief Inspector Alexander Aurelio, head of the provincial intelligence branch and town police chief Inspector Rodney Godio swooped down on the suspects’ respective residences on the strength of search warrants issued by the Regional Trial Court in Gapan City. PNA-northboundasia.com