CEBU CITY, Philippines—Police revealed that the two high-value individuals arrested in a buy bust operation in Barangay Tejero on Monday afternoon, March 9, 2020, were reportedly an ex convict and a gun-for-hire.
This was what members of the Waterfront Police Station found out during their background checking on the identity of Thomas Florita Cirujano, 31, from the same area, and Reynaldo Ygot Capangpangan, 37, from Barangay Pulpogan, Consolacion, Cebu.
The two were arrested during the buy-bust operation in Villagonzalo 1, Barangay Tejero at around 1 p.m. on Monday.
Read: P7M worth of illegal drugs confiscated in Tejero buy bust
At least 1 kilo of suspected shabu worth an estimated P7.1 million was confiscated from Cirujano and Capangpangan.
Aside from the drugs, a .9 mm pistol was also confiscated from the possession of Capangpangan.
Police Major Joemar Pomarejos, chief of the Waterfront Police Station, told reporters that Capangpangan served as the protector of Cirujano.
He said they found out that Cirujano has already been jailed for illegal drugs before and may have rose to become a drug distributor of bigger transactions after he was released from jail.
Police are not sure if he served his time or he was released due through plea bargain.
This is where Capangpangan comes to the picture.
Pomarejos said Cirujano may have hired Capangpangan to protect him in his illegal drug trade.
“Maybe if there was an opportunity, the two would have resisted arrest,” said Pomarejos.
With this information, Pomarejos said they will be conducting further investigation to determine if both Cirujano and Capangpangan have something to do with previous suspected drug-related killings in the city.
Pomarejos said they have monitored Cirujano for about three weeks before the operation as he was very careful with the people he was transacting with.
He said as of this time, they are verifying information given by the two about the source of their illegal drugs. /bmjo