Nephew, niece of convicted drug trader arrested for keeping shabu at home

MANILA, Philippines—A nephew and niece of convicted drug lord Amin Imam Boratong were arrested for allegedly keeping illegal drugs during a raid on their houses in Pasig City over the weekend, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said Tuesday.

In a statement, NBI director Magtanggol Gatdula said agents of the NBI Reaction, Arrest and Interdiction Division swooped down separately on the houses of Hamem Boratong Panda, 22, and his cousin Minerba Boratong Batugan, 27, on Baltazar Street, Barangay Sto. Tomas on Saturday.

Another nephew of Boratong, Acsaimen Boratong, was able to elude arrest after he purportedly used his three young daughters as “human shield” during the operation.

Gatdula said Acsaimen was a “known hitman” of his uncle who was convicted in 2009 of maintaining a “shabu tiangge” (drug den) in Pasig.

“The operation was prompted by information we got that the suspects continued their illicit drug business even after their uncle was convicted by the court,” NBI spokesman Cecilio Zamora Jr. told reporters in an interview.

Zamora said seized from Panda’s house were plastic sachets containing 41.9 grams of suspected shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) while 6.9 grams of the same illicit drugs were recovered from Batugan’s residence.

He said the cousins were taken to the NBI jail in Manila after they were charged with violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2000.

Source: Inquirer