Police demolish 'shabu tiangge' in Manila

(Updated 9:40 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines — Police demolished on Saturday a cluster of shanties in Manila’s district of Sta. Cruz, which reportedly doubled as a drug flea market. Superintendent Romulo Sapitula, chief of Manila Police District Station 3, led the tearing down of the houses along the railroad tracks on Dimasalang Street in Sta. Cruz at 7 a.m. The demolition was approved by the Manila city government under Mayor Alfredo Lim, said Sapitula. He said 30 out of the 41 suspects apprehended during the raid were found positive for drug use in the drug testing conducted by the MPD-Scene of the Crime Office (SOCO). Those found negative for drugs were released. The raiding team also seized over 20 plastic sachets of shabu worth P500 each. Big fish Sapitula said probers have shifted their focus on suppliers of drugs in the area. "We want to trace the source or the big-time drug lord," he said. Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales, MPD director, had earlier ordered his men to go after the "big fish" engaged in the illegal drugs trade in the city. Sapitula said they were not discounting the possibility that policemen were protecting the raided mini “shabu tiangge." “We have yet to confirm if cops are involved [in the illegal drugs trade], but we are not discounting the possibility that some of our colleagues are protecting the shabu den," he said. He added that investigators had started interrogating the arrested suspects to establish the identity of the source of their illegal drugs in the raided place. Small version of Pasig shabu tiangge According to Sapitula, the place is reputed to be a haven of drug pushers and users. “This is a sort of small version of shabu 'tiangge,' which was uncovered in Pasig City some years ago," he said. In February 2006, anti-narcotics agents arrested more than 200 persons, including women and minors, during a raid on that shabu tiangge, which was near the Pasig City Hall. Couple Amin Imam Boratong and his wife Sheryl were arrested and charged with drug trafficking. In the Sta.Cruz tiangge, drug addicts reportedly “rent" a shanty for only P5 to 10 to hold drug sessions. Before the raid, police conducted series of test buys and confirmed the illegal drug trade early in the day. Then the raiding team composed of MPD Station 3 Anti-Illegal Drugs Unit, under Inspector Jhonny Gaspar, and Station’s Reaction Group, under Senior Police Officer 3 Carmelo Gariando, swooped down on the drug den, catching pushers and buyers by surprise. For uncovering the drug den and for the successful raid, Rosales commended Sapitula and his men. - GMANews.TV