Retired general linked to P6.7-B Manila drug haul 'anomaly' surrenders
A retired three-star general of the Philippine National Police (PNP), who was reported to have left the country after an arrest warrant was issued against him in connection with the P6.7 billion drug haul in Manila in 2022, went back and surrendered to the authorities.
PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Fajardo said the arrest warrant was served to retired general Benjamin delos Santos shortly after his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA at 4:48 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
“He surrendered to the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) and he underwent normal booking procedures,” said Fajardo.
But delos Santos was released at 9:12 a.m. on Tuesday after posting P200,000 bail, according to Fajardo.
Delos Santos was among the 29 former and active PNP personnel charged for violation of the Section 92 of the Republic Act 9165, or Delay and Bungling in Prosecution of Drug Cases.
The case stemmed from the result of the National Police Commission and Department of Justice investigation into the alleged discrepancies in the operation that led to the discovery of 990 kilos of shabu from a lending firm owned by retired police sergeant Rodolfo Mayo in October 2022.
The probe started after CCTV footage showed discrepancies in the narration of the event that led to the alleged arrest of Mayo.
With the surrender of Delos Santos, only seven of those included in the charge sheet remain unaccounted, including retired general Narciso Domingo who was the head of the PNP-Drug Enforcement Group at the time of the operation.
Domingo earlier said he would not surrender as he insisted that there were no anomalies and that those pursuing the case are just being played with by criminal syndicates.