This photo provided by the police shows the face of the suspect Vincent Apas, a high value target drug personality.
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—A drug dealer escaped from the hands of police after engaging them in a shootout during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City on Monday afternoon, January 27, 2020.
Members of the Canduman Police Station in Mandaue City who were handling the operation identified the suspect as Vincent Apas, 30, who resides at Upper Binaliw.
Apas, according to the police, is considered a High Value Target drug personality.
Police Major Hugo Rio Ipong, Station Commander of Canduman Police Station, is calling on the public to report to authorities any information about the whereabouts of the suspect.
According to Ipong, Apas began his escape act when the police poseur buyer moved in to arrest him. Apas reportedly ran away from the poseur buyer and got a revolver, then started firing.
Fortunately, none of the police got hit. Police returned fire but also missed, as the suspect reportedly jump off into a cliff and got away.
Police later recovered the .38 revolver used by the suspect with one live and three spent shells in its cylinder. They also recovered a medium pack of suspected shabu with an estimated value of P5,000.
Police filed appropriate charges against the escaped suspect on Monday afternoon and vowed to continue its hunt against Apas. /bmjo