2 drug suspects killed in shootout with Cebu police

A policemen of the Argao Police Station records the sachets of illegal drugs believed to be shabu after a shootout with a suspected drug pusher in Barangay Cansuje, Argao on late Wednesday evening, August 26, 2020. | Contributed photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Two suspected drug pushers in Cebu City and Argao town were killed in a shootout with police in two separate operations, authorities reported.

On Wednesday evening, August 26, Michael Bayaton died after he reportedly attempted to escape arrest from authorities, who were serving a warrant of arrest against him in Barangay Apas, Cebu City.

A report from Central Visayas’ Drug Enforcement Group (DEG) said Bayaton, who was facing an arrest warrant for drug charges, tried to shoot at the policemen, who were about to serve the arrest warrant against him.

The warrant, they added, was issued by Judge Francis Ranier Navarrete of Branch 7 of the Regional Trial Court in Cebu City (RTC-Cebu City).

“The said operation resulted in an armed encounter when the subject first fired upon the arresting team. The team returned fire hitting the subject,” police said.

Bayaton was rushed to the nearest government hospital but attending physicians declared him dead-on-arrival.

One Uzi pistol and a Colt 1911 .45-caliber pistol, ammunition, were confiscated from the suspect’s house.

Read: Barangay Buhisan bust yields P544K worth of illegal drugs

Around three hours later, more than 70 kilometers southwest of Cebu City, another suspected drug personality was killed in Barangay Cansuje, Argao town after he, too, allegedly tried to shoot at the policemen during a buy-bust operation.

The suspect, identified as Joshua Noval, and a resident of Liloan town in northern Cebu, was the subject of a buy-bust operation, reports from the Argao Police Station stated.

Police said Noval tried to elude arrest when he sensed that the buyer he met was a police officer in disguise and that he opened fire first towards the enforcers.

“The suspect was brought to Argao hospital for medical treatment but(was)  declared dead on arrival at around 1:25 a.m. of August 27, 2020,” they added.

Authorities confiscated 20 sachets of suspected shabu, a .38 revolver, drug paraphernalia, and ammunition from Noval’s residence.

They also retrieved two pieces of cartridges in the crime scene./dbs