OPERATIVES of Police Station 1 in Bacolod City have yet to identify the people behind the killing of drug operative Police Staff Sergeant Joseph Nepomuceno Jr. and the beheading of drug suspect Glenn Paul Castillo in August this year.
Police Major Ramel Sarona, commander of Police Station 1, said Tuesday, September 7, that they are still investigating the two murders and are in the process of gathering evidence and looking for witnesses.
On August 29, Nepomuceno, 37, a member of City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU), and resident of Barangay 14, was driving his motorcycle when two unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants gunned him down on Rosario Street in Barangay 38.
Three days later, the headless body of Castillo, 42, of Barangay Cabug, was left at the same spot where the policeman was killed, while his severed head wrapped in plastic was thrown somewhere in Barangay 2.
Castillo, along with his live-in partner Analie Baldevieso, 36, was arrested in a drug bust operation conducted by CDEU operatives, including Nepumoceno, in their residence last August 21.
Sarona, however, emphasized that they are yet to establish the links of the two incidents, adding that the killing of Nepumoceno could be work-related, while illegal drug transactions is the possible reason why Castillo was beheaded.
Sarona said they already checked the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera in the area along Rosario Street where Nepumoceno was shot and the body of Castillo was discovered, but the footage was not clear to determine the identity of the assailants.
Police Regional Office-Western Visayas Director Rolando Miranda already ordered the creation of Special Investigation Task Group Nepomuceno to fast-track the investigation.