A former Cebuano professional basketball player was arrested after he was caught playing mahjong with a group of men in a suspected drug den in barangay Poblacion, Argao town, southern Cebu last Tuesday night.
The arrest of Jimwell Torion, 39, came after operatives of the Argao police conducted a buy-bust operation against Wilfredo Santos,40, and Isidro Campaner,43.
Torion will be charged with violation of Presidential Decree 1602, the anti-gambling law.
The offense is bailable.
Before the arrest, Torion was playing mahjong with Santos, 44-year-old security guard Neck Monter Limbo and Jonathan Tandingan, 37, in the house of Campaner where the buy-bust operation was made.
When Campaner handed a pack of suspected shabu to a poseur-buyer, police moved in and implemented the arrest.
“While the transaction was ongoing, the door of the house was open so we were able to see those who were playing mahjong,” Senior Insp. Alejandro Batobalonos, chief of Argao police Station, told Cebu Daily News.
Batobalonos said he did not immediately recognize Torion during the arrest.
“He looks different now. It was one of my men who informed me who it was. He looks untidy now,” said Batobalonos in Cebuano.
Santos and Campaner are facing charges for selling and possessing illegal drugs.
Police said they seized P9,000 worth of shabu.
“Based on the information that we received, most of those who play mahjong are most likely the customers of the street pushers,” said Batobalonos.
Torion last played with Air21 in 2007 in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
During his PBA career, Torion was suspended indefinitely after he tested positive for illegal drug use in a random test.
The ban was lifted after he completed a drug rehabilitation program.
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