Olongapo cop relieved as station chief after controversial buy-bust operation

A police officer here was removed from his post to give way to an investigation of alleged lapses in a recent drug buy-bust operation that went viral on Facebook.

Captain Walter Primero, acting chief of Police Station 4 here, was administratively relieved on Monday, January 4, following the incident, said Brigadier General Valeriano De Leon, director of Central Luzon regional police.

In a statement, De Leon said they were still gathering information about the incident, which was caught on camera last January 2.

In the video, Primero and his station’s Drug Enforcement Unit were arresting drug suspect Nesty Gongora while the latter’s relatives were trying to stop the cops from dragging him into a car.

De Leon said it was a legitimate drug operation although the actual buy-bust was not recorded on the camera.

According to Gongora’s family, he was originally being arrested for quarantine violations for not wearing mask. But they claimed the police later told that Gongora was caught with sachets of shabu.

Police here also filed a case of obstruction of justice against Gongora’s relatives who tried to stop the arrest.

De Leon said Gongora tested positive for drug use but assured the public that he would not tolerate if the policemen erred on the operation. – Rappler.com