IMUS CITY, Cavite – A drug suspect was killed Thursday when he and his companion engaged the cops in a shootout after a drug bust in Barangay Kaong, Silang, the Cavite Police Provincial Office (PPO) reported on Friday.
One Noel Reyes, alias “Olmo,” died on the spot from bullet wounds.
His companion – Mark Anthony Almazan, alias “Michael” – escaped with his gun during the encounter at 8:45 a.m. Thursday, the police reported.
The Scene of the Crime Operatives (SoCO) recovered at the site Reyes’ Llama Minimax .9mm pistol with magazine loaded with six bullets, an inside holster, three shells for a .9mm pistol, a coin purse containing six small sachets of shabu, the buy-bust money – P1,000 bill and nine pieces boodle.
The recovered shabu in sachets weighed five grams and worth P25,000, the PPO reported.
The buy-bust operation was conducted by a joint police team composed of officers from the Silang and Sta. Rosa (Laguna) Police Drug Enforcement Units, Police Regional Office (PRO)-IV-A Special Operations Unit, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Region IV-A.
In its initial report, the PPO said that Reyes and Almazan shot it out with the team after sensing that the “shabu buyer” that they had dealt with was a police officer.
The shooting forced the team to fire back with bullets hitting Reyes.
Almazan reportedly fled during the exchange of gunfire and was nowhere to be found.
The police launched a manhunt against Almazan after the encounter.
PPO reports showed that Reyes was the seventh resisting drug suspect who died in encounters with police in Cavite province this month, the extended general community quarantine (GCQ) period. (Anthony Giron)
