SENIOR Superintendent Romeo Baleros, director of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo), said on Tuesday, March 12, that the death of Rusty Poja Constantino, a cousin of an alleged drug lord in Western Visayas, will temporarily reduce the supply of illegal drugs in Negros Occidental.
On Monday night, March 11, Constantino, 27, of Barangay Banago, Bacolod City, was killed in a drug bust conducted by operatives of the Talisay City Police Station in Purok Tumpok, Barangay Zone 15, Talisay City.
Baleros said Constantino sold a sachet of suspected shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) to an undercover cop at about 7 p.m. at his rented house.
Baleros said Constantino may have sensed he was dealing with a policeman, which prompted him to shoot the operatives.
The operatives managed to return fire, which caused Constantino’s death.
Police recovered from Constantino’s possession one .38 caliber firearm loaded with five live ammunition and one fired cartridge case inside its cylinder, three fired cartridge of a 9mm caliber firearm, nine sachets of suspected shabu, drug paraphernalia and the P300 marked money.
Baleros said Constantino is the first cousin of RamyPoja, an alleged drug lord in Western Visayas, who was also killed in an anti-drug operation of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) in Barangay Banago, Bacolod in May 2018.
He said Constantino was among those injured during the encounter and he was listed as the No. 8 most wanted person of BCPO-Police Station 3 as well as No. 8 in the drugs watchlist of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Negros Occidental.
Constantino also had a pending arrest warrant for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
“His death (Constantino) will temporarily reduce the supply of illegal drugs in Negros Occidental, but I think his group will not stop their illegal activities here because this is very lucrative business,” Baleros said.
He said Constantino had suppliers of illegal drugs from Cebu, Mindanao and Metro Manila and he was a big supplier in Negros Occidental.
Baleros ordered all the chiefs of police in Negros Occidental to continue their campaign against illegal drugs within their areas of jurisdiction.
“This is not the end of our operation against this group, but this is the beginning of our intensified campaign against the group of Poja, who were operating in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental,” Baleros said.
He said that this will also serve as warning to those involved in illegal drugs in Negros Occidental.
“We will not be lowering down our operations against illegal drugs. We are still in full swing in terms of operations against illegal drugs,” the police chief added.
Baleros also ordered the chief of police of Talisay City Police Station to file charges against the owner of the house for harboring the criminal considering that Constantino had a standing warrant of arrest for violation of Republic Act 9165. (MAP)