Joint police operation yields ‘high-value target’ in Barili

A suspected high-value target in government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign fell in the hands of police following a joint operation conducted by the Cebu Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB), Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit, the Provincial Public Safety Company and the Barili Police Station on Tuesday.

The suspect later told investigators that a Barili policeman helped him in his illegal trade by providing him protection in exchange for money.

Armed with a search warrant issued by Judge Jerry Dicdican of RTC Branch 25 in Danao City, northern Cebu, police operatives searched the house of 45-year-old Rolando Escorial in Barangay Maigang, Barili, a town south of Cebu.

Police confiscated eight packs of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) and a .45 caliber pistol with several bullets.

The search was witnessed by Maigang Barangay Captain Fidela Ovida who told Cebu Daily News that Escorial was on their watch list as he was considered to be a high-value target who was a “big problem” for village officials.

Upon investigation, Escorial claimed that a Barili policeman with the rank of PO2 was receiving weekly bribes from him as protection for his illegal business.

PIB chief, Supt. Joie Yape, said that this was subject to verification along with Escorial’s claim that he sourced his illegal drugs supply from a certain “Rocky”, an inmate of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC).