SENIOR Superintendent Jack Wanky, acting director of Bacolod City Police Office, said Sunday the death of Iloilo City drug lord Richard Prevendido also dealt a major blow to the illegal drug trade in Bacolod.
He said they have monitored the associates of Prevendido operating in the city although he had gone into hiding in the past several months before he died in a police encounter.
He was killed when he resisted arrest as policemen were serving arrest warrant against him last Friday night at his home in Jaro, Iloilo City.
Wanky said that Prevendido’s drug operations continued even if his whereabouts was unknown.
He said the suspect’s operations in the city is “two-way.”
Prevendido sent a significant volume of drug supply to Bacolod, and also got his supply from Bacolod at the same time, Wanky said.
“I know he had connections in Bacolod, and that his illegal drug operations continued even when he went into hiding,” he added.
For his part, Chief Superintendent Edmund Gonzales, director of Police Regional Office-18, said he believes the drug supply coming in to the province will be affected following the death of Prevendido.
However, the effect is only minimal. “Yes, there's an effect, but very minor,” he said.
However, there’s also a psychological effect to the drug personalities, he added.
Gonzales pointed out that the illegal drug trade in Negros Island has a lot of sources due to the island's many points of entry.
“There are many entrances and exits in Negros. We have from Iloilo, Cebu, and Mindanao," he said.
He said the death of the suspected drug lord couldn't gauge if the drug supply would go down as there are still other sources of illegal drugs.
Moreover, Gonzales said Prevendido has no known drug associates in the province, but many drug personalities here have “transactions” with him.
Many drug personalities get their supply from Prevendido, he said.
Prevendido’s death came a year after suspected Iloilo drug lord Melvin Odicta and his wife Meriam were killed at Caticlan Port in Aklan.
Following the death of Odicta, Prevendido allegedly succeeded as the top drug lord of Western Visayas.
Meanwhile, Malacañang said Saturday police officers who carried out legitimate operation against Prevendido were confronted by "enormous risk."
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Prevendido reportedly resisted arrest when the policemen were serving arrest warrant against? him.
"The incident shows the enormous risk our police officers face each time warrants are implemented against high-value targets," he added.