E. Samar gov's nephew, 2 others nabbed for selling cocaine

Three people, including a nephew of Eastern Samar Governor Conrado Nicart, were arrested Saturday in separate buy-bust operations by police anti-illegal drugs operatives in Metro Manila, a television report said Sunday. Arnold Nicart, the group’s alleged mastermind, was arrested in a restaurant in Timog Avenue in Quezon City. His companions, Jackson Garlejo and Ariel Bacolor, were nabbed in Greenhills, San Juan City for allegedly offering to sell one kilogram of cocaine worth P1 million. “Mayroong informant na pumunta rito sa AIDSOTF (Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force), mayroon ngang information about the distribution of cocaine dito sa Maynila. Based on that information, nag-conduct ng verification and validation," said Chief Inspector Roque Merdegia Jr. of AIDSOTF’s Special Investigation Division in an interview aired over GMA News’ “24 Oras." (An informant came to the AIDSOTF to give information on the distribution of cocaine here in Metro Manila. We verified and validated that information.)

In a statement posted on the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) website, Deputy Director General Perfecto Palad, AIDSOTF chief, said the agents first arrested Garlejo and Bacolor in the Club Filipino parking lot in Greenhills at around 9:30 a.m. Saturday, after they offered to sell a brick of cocaine for P1 million to an anti-narcotics agent posing as a buyer. The suspects then pointed to Arnold Nicart as the alleged owner of the drugs and said that he was waiting for them to deliver the money. Nicart was arrested as he received the money outside a restaurant along Timog Avenue, the statement said. Authorities believe the seized cocaine was part of the two tons of the illegal drugs dumped into the sea off Samar by sailors aboard the Chinese vessel King Yue I in December 2009. The ship was en route to Hong Kong from Ecuador when the crew reportedly received information that they were under surveillance by the US Drug Enforcement Agency. Merdegia said only 500 kilos of cocaine have been recovered so far, while about 1.4 tons have yet to be found. “Pinaniniwalaan natin na mayroon pa tayong mga kababayan sa Samar na nagtatago nitong mga cocaine na ito (We believe that some Samar residents have with them some of these dumped cocaine)," Merdegia said in the “24 Oras" report. Governor Nicart has admitted that the suspect was his nephew, but stressed that he will not tolerate illegal activities in his province even by relatives. He said the suspect’s family was not his ally and even campaigned against him in the last elections. The arrested suspects are scheduled to undergo inquest proceedings on Monday, according to the TV report. - KBK, GMANews.TV