Drug group leader arrested in Pangasinan

ANTI-NARCOTICS agents have arrested leader of a notorious drug group operating in Pangasinan and two female members, who happened to be twins, in separate buy-bust operations in northern Philippines, official said Friday.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Undersecretary Jose Gutierrez Jr. said that the suspects affiliated with the Guevarra Drug Group, operating in Asingan, Pangasinan, and adjacent municipalities, were nabbed in two consecutive operations conducted on May 22.

He identified the arrested leader of the Guevarra Drug Group as Alexis delos Reyes, 58; his wife Zaida delos Reyes; and her twin sister, Zenaida Lachica, alias Lalit, both 52.

The first operation was conducted in Barangay Poblacion, Tayug, Pangasinan around 4 p.m. by agents of the PDEA-Ilocos Region under Director Edgar Apalla.

Lachica, the sister-in-law of delos Reyes, was apprehended after selling one plastic sachet of shabu to an undercover PDEA agent disguised as a buyer. She yielded another plastic sachet containing shabu after being frisked by a female PDEA agent.

Two hours later, the delos Reyes couple was busted by another composite team from PDEA-Ilocos Region as a result of an entrapment operation in Barangay Poblacion, in Asingan, Pangasinan.

Confiscated from the husband and wife were five plastic sachets containing shabu, one caliber 38 Colt handgun with six pieces of live ammunition, and one motorcycle they used to facilitate their illegal drug transaction.

"Delos Reyes, his wife and his sister-in-law have been under the tight watch of PDEA RO1 for their illegal drug activities and involvement with the Gueverra Drug Group. This group, headed by Alexis [delos Reyes], is a relatively new group. We have reason to believe that the [Guevarra Drug] Group, with membership still limited to family members and some distant relatives, will now begin to disintegrate with the arrest of its leader,” Gutierrez said.

The Delos Reyes couple is currently detained in Tayug District Jail, while Lachica, is under the temporary custody of Urdaneta Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

They all face charges for selling (Section 5) and possessing (Section 11) in violation of Article II, of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. (SDR/Sunnex)