acolod police arrest eight
‘estafa syndicate’ members

Eight members of a suspected con syndicate offering instant cash returns for every investment made by their victims were arrested by the Bacolod City Police Investigation Branch and the Special Operations Group in Brgy. Alijis, at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Supt. Santiago Rapiz identified those arrested as Altres de Dios, 33, of Mangan-Vaca, Eustaquio Mejo Jr., 38, of Barrio Bareto, Olongapo City, both in Zambales province and president and vice president for treasury of the organization, respectively.

Rapiz said they also nabbed the members of the group, identified as Gregorio Deslate, 58, of Molo District, Jesus Montes, 61, of La Paz District, Lucero Dolores, 61, and Carmela Umadhay, 42, of Jaro District, all of Iloilo City; and Vicenta Garcia, 59, of Cagayan.

He said the suspects, who identified themselves as members of the Voice for Global Solution on Poverty Association, were arrested following the complaints of eight residents of Bacolod City, whose names the police withheld.

The victims claimed that the suspects duped them of P2,000 each through false claims and deceit.

They said the suspects told them that after paying P2,000, they will each be given a checkbook and P2 million will be deposited in their accounts after December 23, the day that they said, was the “proclamation” of the father of De Dios, whose name was not disclosed, as the new King of the Philippines and him as the new prince.

Rapiz said they believe the group has victimized other people in other areas in Philippines.

In March this year, four members of the group were also arrested in Lucena City, Cagayan, on the complaint of a businesswoman, who claimed that the suspects took P400,000 from her.*APN

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Drug raps vs.
4 men dismissed

The illegal drug charges filed against four men were ordered dismissed by Regional Trial Court Branch 45 Judge Eliseo Geolingo because of reasonable doubt, at their promulgation at the Bacolod City Hall of Justice Friday.

Exonerated from the illegal drugs charges were Reynaldo Malde, “alias Naldo Amo”, Anthony Gayatao, Roberto Peralta and Melvin Mendoza, records of the decisions and copies of which furnished the DAILY STAR, showed yesterday.

Malde was arrested by the City Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group in a buy-bust operation on August 27, 2004, during which a heat-sealed transparent plastic pack that contained about 0.02 gram of shabu were taken from him in exchange for P100.

In dismissing the charges against Malde, Geolingo stressed that the prosecution was not able to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Gayatao was arrested by CAIDSTOG operatives on February 5, 2004, also in a buy-bust operation. But because witness SPO1 Nelson Grijaldo could no longer be located, Geolingo dismissed the charges.

Bacolod City Station 2 policemen arrested Mendoza in a buy-bust operation in Purok Ylac in Brgy. 1 in the city on November 9, 2004 from whom they seized an 8-inch folding knife and a sachet of suspected shabu.

Geolingo said the handling of evidence by the policemen was defective and there was no compliance with the requirements of Republic Act 9165.

Meanwhile, Peralta was arrested after members of the then Negros Occidental Narcotics Command confiscated a deck of shabu and two sachets of the banned substance during a search at his house on March 3,1999.

Geolingo, however, found the implementation of the search at the house of Peralta illegal, causing him to dismiss the charges against him.*APN

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