ORMOC CITY– A fighting cock handler is currently detained at the municipal police station in Villaba, Leyte after being apprehended for possession of drug paraphernalia.
The arrest occurred around 8:45 am on Saturday, October 19, in Sitio Can-Apug, Barangay Suba, Villaba after the suspect was found sleeping in someone’s house.
Villaba Officer-in-Charge, Police Major Ian Salvador Po, identified the suspect as John Mark Ruiz, 28, single.
Ruiz is a resident of Brgy. Suba and has been listed as a newly identified street-level individual on the local police drug watchlist.
According to Major Po, the arrest followed a report from a resident identified as alias “Bernadette,” 28, a business owner living in Sitio Can-Apug.
She called the Villaba Police Hotline, reporting that an unknown person was found sleeping inside her residence, specifically in the kitchen sink area. Responding police officers immediately went to the scene to investigate.
Upon arrival, the police identified the sleeping individual as Ruiz, but he became unruly when woken up. To avoid further chaos, as the house owner and her relatives were becoming agitated, the police took Ruiz into custody and brought him to the Villaba Police Station.
During a lawful search at the station, conducted by PCpl Carlo Damayo and witnessed by Barangay Councilor Martin I. Saladaga along with the two complainants, alias “Rena” and alias “Bernadette,” police recovered drug paraphernalia from the suspect.
The confiscated items included three empty sachets with suspected shabu residue, one tin foil strand with suspected shabu residue, an improvised tin foil toother with suspected shabu residue, a medical needle, a lighter, an improvised canister, and a pair of medical scissors.
The suspect is currently in the custody of Villaba Police Station, and charges for violation of Section 12, Article II of RA 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002), as amended by RA 10640, were filed against him.
(ROBERT DEJON)
