ABOUT P4 million worth of alleged shabu and three firearms were seized from a suspected drug lord and his accomplice in a raid conducted by the operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation Central Visayas (NBI 7).
The suspects identified as Leo Montealto, 45, and his assistant Richel "Sadam" Banga-Banga, 33, were arrested inside their home, they reportedly used as a drug den in Barangay Calambua, San Remigio town, northern Cebu, on Wednesday afternoon, January 24, 2024.
The NBI Cebu District Office (Cebdo) Agent-in-Charge, Arnel Pura, stated during a press conference on Thursday, January 25, that the two had also been accused of robbery, of being a "gun for hire," and of harassing some candidates during the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in their barangay in October last year.
Pura stated that the two were just freed from the Bogo City Jail, where they had been detained since 2011 for violations involving the possession of illegal narcotics and weapons.
However, he said that a reliable source said that the two returned to their illegal activities following their release from jail.
Because of this, the NBI put them under observation for a month before they launched the anti-illegal drug operation.
Recovered from the suspects were 10 large packs of suspected shabu weighing around 500 grams and valued at P4 million, mobile phones and drug paraphernalia, including a logbook with a list of names the NBI believed to be some of the suspects' clients.
Also seized from Montealto and Banga-banga were two chamber-loaded .45 pistols, a shotgun, and ammunition for both weapons.
Aside from the two drug suspects, ten more persons, who the NBI believed to be their customers, were arrested and subjected to drug tests.
Two of them who tested positive were detained for questioning, while the remaining eight who tested negative were released thereafter.