But Senior Supt. Eliseo Tanding, Nueva Ecija police provincial director, maintained the deaths were not part of the government anti-drug drive Oplan Tokhang, resulting after the drug suspects fired on police operatives leaving the latter no choice but to fire back.
Arturo Cristolbal, a listed drug personality of Barangay Dalampang here, was killed in a buy-bust operation along Kalye Vicente, Purok 6, Barangay Sumacab Sur in this city at around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Supt. Ponciano Zafra, city police chief, said the operation against Cristobal was conducted in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Central Luzon using one piece of a marked P1,000 bill.
Investigators recovered from the suspect the marked money, one sachet of suspected shabu, a .38 revolver, a mobile phone and other paraphernalia, Zafra said.
In San Antonio, elements of the station drug enforcement units (SDEU) killed this town’s second most wanted in a buy-bust operation that ended in a gunfight in Barangay Sta. Cruz at about 3:25 a.m. Friday.
Tanding identified the fatality as Reynaldo Calison, 42, resident of Barangay Panabingan and listed as no. 2 in the town police’s wanted list.
Tanding said that on top of peddling illegal drugs, Calison was involved in gun-forhire and robbery hold-up activities operating in this town and Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Pangasinan.
Police said that elements of the SDEU conducted a buy-bust against Calison but the suspect allegedly fired a .38 revolver thus the lawmen retaliated.
Recovered from the suspect were six sachets of shabu, the P500 marked money and the revolver, police said.
