Top drug suspect in Negros Occidental surrenders

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – And they keep on falling or, in this case, yielding.

Allegedly for fear of his life, a top drug suspect in the province surrendered to the authorities in Cauayan town, Tuesday, July 12.

Rene Lim, 44, of sitio Pasalan, Barangay Caliling, Cauayan, yielded to Cauayan Vice Mayor John Rey Tabujara after he evaded the police during a raid in his home.

Lim, suspected leader of the Rene Lim drug crime group operating in southern Negros, is also the town’s most wanted person, police said.

He has 2 pending arrest warrants for sale and possession of illegal drugs. 

The police swooped down the suspect’s house to serve him the arrest warrants but he had already escaped, said Inspector Jaynick Bermudez, deputy chief of Cauayan Municipal Police Station.

Apparently, the suspect had already called the vice mayor, telling him that he will surrender to the police.

The suspect, who was hiding 500 meters away from his residence, was picked up by the police. Before he was brought to the police station, he was presented to the vice mayor at the municipal hall.

Bermudez said that the suspect had been a subject of previous raids before but he was always able to escape. He said that the police always had a hard time penetrating the area.

Bermudez said that the suspect’s family are also engaged in illegal drug activities, including his wife, son, sibling, mother and in-law. All 5 had previously surrendered to the police. 

He said that the suspect was a “big-time supplier” of illegal drugs in the Six District, saying “all towns and cities get their supply from him.”

Six District is composed of the cities of Kabankalan and Sipalay and towns of Cauayan, Ilog, Hinobaan, and Candoni. 

The surrender is just one of many similar incidents in the country since President Rodrigo Duterte, who vowed to put an end to illegal drugs, assumed power.  – Marchel Espina/Rappler.com