Inmates squat naked while being guarded by a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team at the male dorm of the Cebu City Jail. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)
Battle-ready policemen and operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) raided both the Cebu City and provincial jails, uncovering P4 million worth of drugs and cash and contraband at 1:25 a.m. yesterday.
Clad in full battle gear and carrying high-powered firearms, 300 policemen descended on the male dormitories of the Cebu City Jail and the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) at the upland barangay (village) of Kalunasan, Cebu City.
With them were 35 PDEA operatives, 20 personnel of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and three K9 dogs.
Detainees were asked to remove their clothes and stay in one corner as operatives of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) searched the belongings and rooms of the two jail facilities one by one.
Among the items found were at least 70 grams of shabu, ampules of nubain, bags of money bills and coins amounting to P4 million, cellphones, bladed weapons, flat screen TVs, pairs of rubber shoes, personal appliances and assorted drug paraphernalia.
Many of the contraband were recovered from the Cebu City Jail. Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, Police Regional Office chief, said they received information about the illegal drug operations inside the Cebu City Jail.
The former Special Action Force chief immediately hatched a “Greyhound Operation” inside the Cebu City Jail and the CPDRC.
“Based sa information na nakuha natin, ginagawa nang tsange ang loob ng kulungan. Kunwari pumapasok ang mga drug users dito para bumibisita pero dito pala sila bumili at gumamit ng illegal drugs kasi takot sila sa Tokhang sa labas (Based on the information we received, the jails have become a market for illegal drugs. Drug users come here as if they would visit prisoners, but in reality, they buy and use drugs. They do it behind bars because they are afraid of the Oplan Tokhang being conducted by the police outside the jail),” Taliño said.
Taliño said they are investigating how the illegal drugs and other contraband slipped past the jail guards at the entrance gates.
Charges will be filed against the detainees from whom the contraband were seized.
Senior Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, PRO-7 deputy director for administration, said he could not fathom how contraband got inside the jail when there are jail guards who supposedly check on those who come in.
“These contraband should not have been here inside. I hope there will be regular inspections that will be conducted,” he said.
Aside from Taliño and Lawas, also present during the operations were Senior Supt. Joel Doria, Cebu City police chief, Senior Supt. Jose Macanas of the Cebu Provincial Police Office and PDEA Regional Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz.
Ruiz believed security in the jails is lax. “Even if there was only one sachet of shabu found inside the jail, that still is alarming because these are not supposed to be here,” he said.
Ruiz said they will check the notebooks and other things they confiscated to find out the contacts of the inmates.
Ramil Lequin, one of the inmates, from whom several money bills were found denied keeping contraband.
“Sa co-op man intawn ni namo (It’s from our cooperative),” he said. Also found inside his room was a flat screen TV and electric fans.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
