By Carmela Martinez
Manila Police District (MPD) Chief Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. said on Monday that rumors about the alleged ‘drug queen’ Guia Gomez Castro continuing illegal drug activities still need to be proven.
Manila Police District (MPD) director Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao
(Manila Police District Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN)
“May mga tsismis tsimis nga na continuous parin yung kanyang illegal activity but that is still to be proven,” Danao said in an interview with ANC’s Matters of Fact.
The alleged ‘drug queen’ is said to be recycling confiscated illegal drugs and selling them again with the help from the local police dubbed as ‘ninja cops’.
He said the case of Guia Gomez Castro was a long time ago, and that it has already been dismissed.
“Tinitignan pa natin yung ibang cases niya if there is any existing warrant of arrest,” Danao said.
“Yung operations kasi niya puro ano lang nakikita natin naririnig at puro tsismis. So one of the reasons kung bakit ako napunta diyan is for me to verify and investigate kung how true is allegation na aimed sa kanya,” he added.
The Manila police chief said Castro was the chairwoman of Barangay 484 in Sampaloc, Manila then she relinquished her post to her first Kagawad to be the officer in charge.
She was then caught in the illegal drug trade in 2001.
“So yun siguro yung basis kung bakit siya ang tinawag na ‘drug queen’,” Danao said.
The police chief said that she was hiding and she could not be found in Manila.
When asked if she was still continuing her illegal drug activities he said there were reports of people caught selling drugs around the area where she used to do her operations.
“Just last week may huli ulit doon so hindi lang naman doon sa barangay niya yung may huli kundi sa buong ka kamaynilaan may paisa-isa pa rin,” he said.
‘Ninja cops‘
In the matter of ‘ninja cops’ the Manila police chief said that the problem with the ninja cops might have been happening before he started to take over.
However, it was not a big problem since he assumed office on November 2018.
“Hindi ko masabi na wala na talaga pero as far as I’m concerned, I’ve instructed them to stop that illegal activity particularly on the illegal drug trade,” he said when asked if there were no ninja cops in the MPD.
Specifically for those involved with the alleged ‘drug queen’ of Manila he said some of them were already thrown out of the MPD, while others resigned or were relieved of their post or they already died.
He said he confronted those who were allegedly involved and said he would personally put a stop to them.
“Sabi ko sa kanila once proven na ikaw ay actively involved parin sa illegal drug trade na ito, papatayin kita. Sinabi ko talaga yoon,” he said.
The Manila police chief reassigned all those who were allegedly involved to his office to watch over them.
“Sa nakikita ko naman sa ngayon wala naman silang involvement pero those were only allegations that still to be proven,” he said.
He said he checked if those allegations were true through an effective counter-intelligence unit.
“Unang una diyan is yung atin feed back mechanism coming from our civilian, feedback mechanism coming from our LGU’s kung ano ba ang actuations, ano ba ang trabaho ng ating mga kapulisan especially those who are allegedly involved sa ganitong klaseng illegal activity,” Danao explained.
He said it was a challenge for him to prevent these policemen from continuing to be “ninja cops.”
“Actually that is a big challenge for me and so far sa nakita ko naman, hindi lang naman kasi ako nagmomonitor niyan marami, maraming units. Hindi lang yung tao ko kundi maraming unit,” he said.
On the 25th of September National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) named Guia Gomez Castro the alleged Drug Queen and linked her to “ninja cops”.