A COMPANY delivery van driver who was figured in the drug list of President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in a drug bust launched by the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit-Northern Mindanao and police in Iligan City on Friday, August 9.
Police identified the drug suspect as Caesar Ian Napoles, 39, resident of Rosario Heights, Tubod, Iligan City.
The anti-drug operatives seized some sachets of suspected “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) from him worth P14,000.
Lieutenant Colonel Mardy Hortillosa II, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Northern Mindanao, said the suspect was a Duterte drug-listed personality under category level 1, which means he is a “noted” drug pusher.
“Mao nakabutang siya sa category level 1 kay civilian ni siya nga dili big-time or drug lord but noted nga drug pusher,” Hortillosa said.
He said the arrest was a result of two months surveillance. The Iligan City police have also monitored the movements of the suspect for several months.
PRO-Northern Mindanao director Rafael Santiago Jr. lauded his men for the untiring and relentless fight against illegal drugs especially going after drug personalities including those under the list of the president.
“We should never stop until we make the region drug-free,” Santiago said.