By Felipe V. Celino
ROXAS CITY, Capiz—Police filed charges on Friday, Jan. 31, against a tricycle driver accused of attempting to smuggle suspected illegal drugs into the Capiz Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in Barangay Lawaan.
Police Lt. Col. Lumayen Lidawan, Roxas City Police Station chief, said tricycle driver Edmund Guerra, 61, of Barangay Dinginan, was charged with violating Section 11 of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, before the City Prosecutor’s Office.
According to Guerra, an unidentified woman flagged down his tricycle while he was in Barangay Lawaan and asked him to deliver a grocery pack to inmate alias “Macky” at the CRC in exchange for a PHP 50 fare.
He said he could not identify the woman because she was wearing a face mask.
During inspection, a jail guard found two sachets of suspected shabu weighing five grams, with an estimated street value of PHP 34,000, inside the grocery pack.
CRC jail warden Arjuna Yngcong said he immediately sought police assistance and turned over the tricycle driver along with the confiscated drugs.
Yngcong said he could not intervene on Guerra’s behalf, as the recovered items were illegal.
Guerra underwent a drug test and tested negative for illegal drug use.
He remains in the custody of the Roxas City Police Station while preparing to post a PHP 200,000 bail for his temporary release.
Police are investigating to determine the true owner of the grocery pack.
Guerra’s family has appealed to the public, asserting his innocence.
