Court junks case vs 4 drug suspects
-A A +AFriday, January 25, 2013
A PANEL of prosecutors from the Misamis Oriental Provincial Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the charges filed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) against four drug suspects arrested during a buy-bust operation last year.
In a 15-page decision, the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the drug charges filed by PDEA against Walid B. Ansao, Aldin R. Colinares, Arn L. Naul and Deo U. Bermejo, reportedly for failure of PDEA agents to establish probable cause.
The panel of prosecutors reportedly found no probable cause to charge the four respondents with violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Lawyer Palawan Lucman Jr., legal counsel of Ansao, confirmed that the suspects were already released from the Misamis Oriental Provincial Jail on last January 23.
Based on the decision, the panel of prosecutors doubted that the “unholy hour of the conduct of buy-bust operation, the unnatural actions of the arrested persons, the faulty intelligence, and the factual improbabilities are not trivial matters as they touch on the core issue of whether there was a buy bust operation.”
The Provincial Prosecutor’s Office also dismissed the counter-charge filed by Ansao and his family against the PDEA agents.
The PDEA agents were charged for robbery, malversation and violation of domicile for the loss of several valuable belongings of Ansao inside their house during the alleged buy-bust operation.
The Provincial Prosecutor’s Office said in its decision that Ansao and his family failed to identify the names of the PDEA agents, whom they accused as the ones who took the said valuable belongings, including those who allegedly withdrew the amount of P50,000 from Ansao’s bank account.
The four drug suspects were arrested on September 3, 2012 in a buy-bust operation at Vamenta Subdivision in Barra Opol, Misamis Oriental.
An estimated P500,000 worth of illegal drugs were confiscated from Ansao.
According to PDEA, Ansao is an alleged “big-time” drug pusher.
PDEA had yet to give its statement regarding the dismissal of the case.
Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on January 26, 2013.
Local news
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