A businessman claiming to be a police colonel, who was arrested by the police Sunday after a car chase in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, is set to be charged today for illegal possession of firearms and prohibited drugs, as well as usurpation for authority, police chief Supt. Antonietto Caniete said.

The arrested businessman, Jose Zulueta,44, was intercepted Sunday at a checkpoint in Brgy. Suay, Himamaylan City, and high-powered firearms and three sachets of suspected shabu, were recovered from his Toyota Fortuner pick-up vehicle.

Caniete, said the substance suspected to be shabu recovered from his vehicle, was confirmed to be a prohibited drug, after examine from at the PNP Crime Laboratory.

Zulueta, however, refused to undergo a drug test.

Supt. Calixto Mabugat, Kabankalan police chief said, Zulueta, who claimed to be a colonel from Camp Crame, ignored policemen trying to stop him at a checkpoint in Kabankalan City.

Zulueta, whose first name is Jose, and not Mark Jose  as earlier reported by the Kabankalan police, introduced himself as a certain Colonel Martines, when he called up the Kabankalan police on Jan. 11 police, before his arrest Sunday.

The brief car chase led to the interception of Zulueta, owner of a newly-opened convenience store in Bacolod City, at a checkpoint established by the Himamaylan police in Brgy. Su-ay, where he was trailed by the Kabankalan police.

Caniete said Zulueta presented expired licenses for the two M-16 assault rifles with seven magazines of ammunition, and for the .45 and super .38 caliber pistols.

He said they also noted  that the two assault rifles had similar serial numbers.

Earlier, Mabugat said, Zulueta, who introduced himself as “Col. Martinez,” called up the Kabankalan City Police Station, at about 10:51 p.m. on Jan. 11, informing the duty police officers that he had an ongoing operation against somebody in Kabankalan, and that they should not inform their police chief, as it was “confidential”  in nature.

Zulueta, who claimed to be  calling from Camp Crame, was later traced to be in Negros Occidental, as reflected in the caller ID of the phone used by the Kabankalan police, Mabugat added.*GPB

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