Man from Lapu-Lapu City swallows ‘ecstasy’ after arrest in police checkpoint

Police Lieutenant Colonel Christian Torres, spokesperson of LCPO. | CDN Digital file photo

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — A man, who was allegedly carrying ecstasy, was forced to swallow the drug to get rid of the evidence after he was arrested in a police checkpoint Friday afternoon.

The incident happened in Barangay Babag in Lapu-Lapu City.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Christian Torres, spokesperson of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LCPO), said that in the absence of any evidence, there was no way to prove that he carried illegal drugs.

With this, Torres said they will now be limited to filing complaints for direct assault, resistance, and disobedience to a person in authority against him.

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Still, Torres said that they will continue to investigate the suspect and identify his source of the illegal drug which he claimed he bought from an online seller in Cebu.

Checkpoint

In an interview on Monday, March 4, Torres said that LCPO personnel were conducting a checkpoint in Barangay Babag on Friday afternoon when the suspect, who was on a motorcycle, tried to avoid the checkpoint.

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But Police Lieutenant Millor, the chief of LCPO’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), saw him and prevented him from escaping.

The suspect, a man in his 30s, allegedly kicked Millor as he approached him, which led to a commotion.

During his arrest, police learned the the suspect, who is from Barangay Babag, did not have a diver’s license.

Ecstasy

When he was frisked,  police also found a small plastic that contained a table and a half of what was believed to be ecstasy in one of the pockets of the shorts that he was wearing.

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To get rid of the evidence, the suspect allegedly swallowed the tablet.

“Naa diay siyay gidala nga allegedly ginadili nga druga which is sa iyang revelation, ecstasy to siya. Iyang gitulon ang ecstacy nga gisud ug plastic,” Torres said.

Upon his arrest, Lapu-Lapu police recommended his admission to a hospital afraid that he would suffer from overdose.

But he allegedly refused hospital admission.

According to Torres, the suspect is currently detained at the custodial facility of LCPO.