SUSPECTED DRUG-DEALING INMATE
Officers of the Cebu City Jail on Friday conducted a surprise inspection and seized a cellular phone from an inmate who has the same nickname as the person identified by an arrested drug suspect as his source of illegal drugs.
Jail Supt. Renante Rubio, warden of the Cebu City Jail, said the operation was done to validate the claim of Walter Oliamot who was arrested by operatives of the Drug Enforcement Group in Central Visayas (DEG-7) last Wednesday.
“According to him (Oliamot), his stock of shabu was taken from a certain Shao inside the city jail, and so we immediately hatched an operation to verify his claim,” he said in an interview.
Oliamot, who was caught by police in possession of P4.7 million worth of shabu inside a motel in Cebu City, claimed his supplier of illegal drugs, a Juan Daclan, got his stock of shabu from a certain “Shao” inside the Cebu City Jail.
There are two inmates at the Cebu City Jail with the nickname “Shao.”
Rubio said one of them was found to have been keeping a cellular phone inside his detention cell.
He said they requested the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to look into the contents of the cellular phone to determine whether Shao is into the illegal drug trade.
“The cellphone will undergo forensic examination so investigators will know its contents, including messages and calls that were already deleted,” Rubio said.
Rubio declined to name the inmate pending investigation.
He said jail officials are doing their best to prevent the entry of illegal drugs and other contraband at the Cebu City Jail.
“Yes, there are erring inmates here, but there are only few of them. Most of our inmates are doing good,” Rubio said.
Inmates of the Cebu City Jail yesterday signed a manifesto before Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak in support of the government’s anti-drugs campaign.
“They promised to police their own ranks, (reject) the entry of illegal drugs, and punish whoever violates the rule,” Rubio said.
Inmates who are caught in possession of shabu, he said, shall be placed in an isolation cell for a certain period of time.
“That’s what the inmates agreed upon,” Rubio said.
Although the inmates promised to cooperate with them, Rubio said jail officers will continue to conduct surprise operations to ensure a drug-free city jail.
The Cebu City Jail was designed for 1,500 prisoners but it now houses over 4,000 inmates.