Police on Wednesday night seized shabu worth P14.1 million from an alleged “pastor” who has been identified as the cousin of a slain alleged drug lord who operated out of an island barangay in Bohol.
Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit-Central Visayas (RPDEU-7) chief Ronnie Failoga said they collared Mark Secretaria Duaban, 42, a resident of Barangay Duljo-Fatima during an anti-drug operation in the said village.
Duaban was identified as the cousin of Rowen “Yawa” Secretaria, one of Cebu’s top drug personalities who was gunned down by anti-narcotics agents during a shootout in Banacon Island in Getafe town in May 2016.
Failoga said Duaban was arrested in the buy-bust operation launched by an operating team of the anti-drug unit of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) led by Lt. Bonifacio Tañola, after they received reports of the suspect’s illegal drug transaction in the city.
Seized from Duaban’s possession was a white substance believed to be shabu weighing 2.075 kilos and amounting to PHP14.1 million based on the current street value.
The suspect alleged in a media interview that he got a cellphone call to receive the items, which were delivered to him by a nine-year-old boy who was tapped as a drug courier.
Duaban is known in his sitio (sub-village) as a “pastor” who founded a religious congregation called “Maayong Balita” composed of members of his family.
According to Getafe police chief Justeofino Hinlayagan, Duaban supplied shabu to his cousins in Banacon.
He said they started to look into the alleged drug operation of Duaban’s cousins but they managed to slip away from authorities.
“Based sa among monitoring wa to siya [Duaban] mag standby sa Banacon. Ang iyang mga downers, ang iyang mga first cousins, atong gi conduct-an og police operation pero tungod lagi kay island barangay dali ra nila makit-an og kinsay di taga dira ug kinsay mangabot so mi resulta og negative,” said Hinlayagan.
Duaban was born to Banacon natives but the family relocated to Cebu City.
“Base sa atong mga pagpangutana, mo uli ran a sila sauna og pista, once a year ra mo uli,” said he added.
Meanwhile, a separate police report indicated that Duaban was detained in 2016 but it was not clear if it was for a drug case.
The suspect admitted that he became a subordinate of Cresistomo “Tata Negro” Llaguno, a drug personality who was killed while campaigning as an independent candidate for city councilor in this city in 2010.
Duaban is now facing charges for violating the provisions penalizing the act of selling illegal drugs under Republic Act 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. (AD with a report from PNA)