High-value target, 2 others slip past Espenido’s drug bust

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – A high-value target and his two companions escaped from a drug bust led by controversial cop, Lieutenant Colonel Jovie Espenido, in Barangay Banago here Thursday night, February 6.

Alias Japoy and his two companions, who were reportedly armed, were transacting with a drug buyer when they sensed the approaching police in civilian clothes. This prompted the suspects to escape on their motorcycles.

Espenido, head of the Bacolod City Drug Enforcement Unit, who expressed disappointment, said this was the first time he failed to arrest the target during a police operation.

He said he would not stop until he arrests alias Japoy, the subject of the drug operation. “Next time, Japoy! You might have escaped now, but I will make sure next time, if you are not dead, you are alive,” he said.

He explained that the buyer had no firearm during the transaction, and that police operatives thought it would be dangerous if they stayed far from the site.

He added that police operatives did not recover any contraband from the bust.

Espenido made the headlines following the deaths of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was killed in the custodial facility during the service of a warrant, and Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog during a raid. Both were linked to the illegal drug trade.

Espenido had been ordered to go on a killing spree by President Rodrigo Duterte following his new assignment in Bacolod last October 2019. – Rappler.com