Retired SPO1 Marflo Suico, his wife SPO1 Ethel Suico, Marflo’s brother Heracleo Suico and dismissed policeman PO2 Neil Cayubit are now detained at the Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) detention cell following their arrest on Wednesday morning.
A policewoman, a retired police officer, a dismissed police officer and a brother of the retired police officer were arrested and drugs, several guns and ammunition were confiscated in simultaneous raids in their houses yesterday in Sibonga, a southern town in Cebu located 60.7 km from Cebu City.
Senior Police Officer 1 Ethyl Suico, 46; her husband, retired Senior Police Officer 1 Marflo Suico, 58; former Police Officer 2 Niel Cayubit, 46; and Marflo’s brother, Heraclio Suico, 52, were arrested after police, armed with a search warrant, searched their houses at 5 a.m. yesterday.
The Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) conducted the operation as they were linked to the alleged drug operations of suspected drug lord Steve Go, who was earlier arrested and detained at the Talisay City Jail and had been found out to still operate his illegal drug business.
Police secured a search warrant on the four houses of the suspects from Regional Trial Court Judge Jerry Dicdican of Branch 25.
A KG9 Rifle, a .45 caliber pistol, 2 Ingram machine pistols, a 9 mm pistol, a hand grenade and assorted ammunition were found inside the house of Marflo and Ethyl, who is an active police officer assigned in Dalaguete Police Station.
A medium pack and 18 sachets of suspected shabu and a pistol with four bullets were also confiscated inside the house of Cayubit, who was a police officer dismissed from service in 2004 after he went absent without official leave in 2003.
Cayubit at first denied owning the suspected shabu, but he later admitted to being a drug user.
A .38 revolver and ammunition and suspected shabu were also found inside the house of Heraclio.
In the house of another suspect, Benneth Teves, who is at large as he was not present during the raid, police confiscated .357 revolver, ammunition and suspected shabu.
The raids were also part of the follow up operation after the arrest of four other drug and gambling suspects in the past operations.
These suspects are Fredirick Go in Talisay City, who was arrested last March; Lagtang Barangay Captain Ferdinand Mark Bas; and Danilo “Tata” Ruiz, who linked the four suspects to their illegal operations.
Supt. Joie Yape, PIB chief, said SPO1 Ethyl Suico would be facing administrative charges after the guns and explosive were found inside her house.
Senior Supt. Eric Noble, CPPO chief, said in a phone interview that this is a big accomplishment for them because the operation led to the arrest of an active police officer, a retired police officer and a former police officer.
Noble said that retired police officer and the former police officer would be facing criminal cases while the active police officer would be facing both criminal and administrative cases.
The suspects were detained at the PIB office as they would be transported to Sibonga Police Station where they would be placed in the station’s detention cell.