Anti-drug, gambling campaigns net 4

OPERATIVES of the Zamboanga City Public Safety Company (ZCPSC) have arrested four people, including a woman in separate campaign against the sale of prohibited drugs and illegal numbers game in Zamboanga City.

Arrested were Remus Paramino, Nelson Taico, Arthur Patacsil and Aiza Abubakar Atti, said ZCPSC director Superintendent William Gadayan.

Gadayan said Paramino was arrested around 6:45 p.m. Thursday while collecting bet for the illegal numbers game known a “Swertres” in the village of Guiwan.

Operators of the illegal Swertres draw their result after the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)-administered Swertres.

However, the bet on the illegal swertres is as low as one peso per three-number combination unlike in the PCSO-administered which P10 per three-number combination bet.

Gadayan said that his men have also confiscated from Paramino’s possession two packs of suspected shabu aside from illegal numbers game paraphernalia.

Gadayan said that Taico and Patacsil were arrested in a buy-bust operation around 8:30 p.m. on the same night in the village of Canelar.

They were arrested after handing over a pack of suspected shabu in exchange for P300 to a policeman who pretended to be a buyer, Gadayan said.

Another pack of suspected shabu, when inspected, was confiscated from the possession of the two suspects, he said.

Atti was arrested an hour later also in a buy-bust operation in the village of Tetuan, he said.

Confiscated from her possession were two medium-sized packs of suspected shabu and P500 marked money used in the buy-bust operation, he added.

The suspects were detained while appropriate charges are set to be filed against them, he said. (Bong Garcia)