ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 2, 2014) – A suspected drug pusher was killed and a policeman wounded in a shootout following an undercover sting at a motel in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines, police said Thursday.
Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, a regional police spokesman, said Joshua Atilano was killed in the gun fight that also wounded PO2 Raymond Diaz.
He said Atilano opened fire on the policemen who were trying to arrest him following the undercover operation at the Pension Royale in Canelar Moret.
Two of Atilano’s companions – Joey Norberto Dellosa and Eric Espinosa – were also arrested by the police inside Huesca said police forces recovered the gun used by Atilano and suspected drug locally known as shabu.
The proliferation of illegal drugs in Zamboanga remains a serious problem in the city which is being used as a transshipment point by pushers to other areas, including Sabah in Malaysia. (Mindanao Examiner)
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