JEFFREY “Jaguar” Diaz, considered the second biggest drug lord in Central Visayas, may not be physically present in Cebu anymore, but his business operations continue, the police said.
He still has henchmen left to manage and protect his shabu business here.
The Police Regional Office 7’s Regional Intelligence Division (RID) yesterday said it already has a list of the suspected henchmen’s names. The list includes a few police officers.
Diaz “is still operating in Central Visayas” even if he is no longer in the region, Supt. Rex Derilo, chief of the RID 7, said quoting police intelligence information.
Had Diaz stayed in the region, he would have been caught by now, Derilo said. “All the police units are dreaming of getting this guy! That’s a big achievement.”
Diaz, however, is reportedly using some of his henchmen to continue selling methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu in Cebu.
“Physically, he’s not here. But it doesn’t always follow that he is no longer involved in the illegal drug business in Cebu,” Derilo said.
He said PRO 7 has tapped the police offices in other regions to help locate Diaz.
Diaz may have left the Philippines, but this has yet to be confirmed.
“He could be moving from one place to another, because he has the (monetary) resources already,” Derilo said.
PRO 7 is checking a list of names possibly involved in Diaz’s operations, which Derilo said, include a few police officers.
“This guy has been giving us a lot of trouble. He’s giving us a bad image. As long as he’s free, there will always be negative impression on the PNP,” he said.
The official gave updates on Diaz’s alleged operations in Cebu following reports that the compound he and his relatives own in Barangay Duljo-Fatima in Cebu City has been abandoned since last year.
In a visit to the compound with reporters yesterday morning, Duljo Fatima Barangay Captain Elmer Abella confirmed that residents have been using the compound as access to interior areas of the neighborhood since Diaz left the area in March 2015.
The main gate that was once locked can no longer be found now, as some residents have destroyed it.
Other compound facilities like the basketball court and a Catholic chapel reportedly built by Diaz remain there.
A certain Jojo, who asked not be named, told reporters that when before only Diaz’s neighbors could play in the basketball court and playground, it is now open to the public.
Diaz is remembered for giving money and food to Duljo-Fatima residents when he was still operating his illegal drug business there, according to Abella.
Every Christmas, he said, Diaz delivered Christmas packages to the neighbors. Last Christmas, no package arrived.
Jojo confirmed this, saying his family had not received money and food since Diaz left.
He would give his neighbors pork and rice during fiesta celebrations, but there’s none of that now. The place has been quiet, Abella said.
A team from the Cebu City Intelligence Branch raided the compound last Sept. 20 and recovered some P4 million worth of shabu, bill counters and cash inside. Diaz and his 11 alleged cohorts, named in search warrants issued by the court, were not there.
An operation by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 7 in October 2003 against Diaz also failed because some neighbors hurled stones at the policemen.
While the police are open to classifying Diaz as the second biggest drug lord in the region, no one has disclosed anything about any drug lord bigger than him.