5 family members nabbed in Minglanilla drug bust

A 40-year-old man believed to be a drug pusher was arrested with his two brothers, his father and brother-in-law for allegedly operating a drug den in sitio Hesperanian, barangay Tungkop, Minglanilla town, southern Cebu at past 5 a.m. yesterday.

Arrested were Manuel Fiel, who was the subject of the buy-bust operation, his brothers Marvin and Mario, their father Rudolfo and Fiel’s brother-in-law, Joselito Lariosa.

All five will face charges of violation of Republic Act 9165 while Manuel and his father Rudolfo will face additional charges for illegal possession of firearms.

Chief Insp. Franco Rudolf Oriol, head of Minglanilla Police, said a police poseur buyer bought P200 worth of drugs from Manuel, who is identified as a level three drug pusher in the area.

“He personally received the money while his brother Marvin turned over the sachet we bought. We immediately arrested them. Since it was still early in the morning, some of them were still asleep. When their father Rudolfo woke up, he pulled out a frontier gun which led to his arrest as well,” said Oriol.

Twenty-five small packs of white powder believed to be shabu were allegedly confiscated from the sling bag that Marvin was carrying.

Joselito allegedly yielded nine sticks of dried marijuana leaves.

“The transaction usually happens inside the house. They also allow their patrons to do shabu sniffing sessions in one of the rooms,” Oriol said.

Oriol said they received complaints from barangay officials about their illegal drug trade and for allegedly brandishing their guns in the place.

Several ammunition and a .357 caliber revolver were allegedly seized from Manuel’s posession. Drug paraphernalia and more than P1,000 worth of proceeds was also seized.

Oriol said it was the first arrest of the Fiel brothers, who have no criminal record in the police station.

Manuel told reporters that he had been in the illegal drug business for a year now to sustain his family’s financial needs. He admitted that he uses drugs as well.

In a separate interview, Rudolfo said he has been telling his sons to stop the illegal drug operation but they did not heed his request.