Image copyright AFP Image caption Mayor Espinosa (L) surrendered to police in August

A mayor linked to the drugs trade in the Philippines has been shot dead in his jail cell by police.

Rolando Espinosa, mayor of the central town of Albuera, had fired at officers searching for weapons, police said.

The death comes after President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to step up his policy of killing suspected drug dealers.

A new stage in the crackdown was announced last week to include mayors and senior drug lords. The "war on drugs" has killed up to 4,000 people.

Mr Duterte, 71, was elected in May on a platform of preventing the Philippines becoming a "narco state" by sanctioning the extra-judicial killing of drug criminals who fail to turn themselves in.

The policy has faced strong criticism from human rights groups and put Mr Duterte at odds with the United States - a staunch ally of the Philippines.

But he won the election by a landslide and the controversial policy remains popular with many Filipinos.

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There have been calls for Mr Espinosa's death to be investigated to determine in particular how weapons ended up in his cell and how the exchange of fire broke out.

He is the second mayor to be killed within two weeks. Samsudin Dimaukom died, reportedly in a gun battle, in the southern Philippines.

Both men were among officials named by Mr Duterte in August as having links to the drug trade.

Mr Espinosa gave himself up to police in August, was then released but was later re-arrested on drugs and firearms charges.</s>ROLANDO Espinosa became the second town mayor killed amid the government’s bloody anti-drug campaign, shot dead in his jail cell early Saturday — police claimed — after firing at operatives serving a search warrant.

The Interior and Local Government department immediately called for an investigation into the brazen killing, which the Palace described as “unfortunate.”

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said Espinosa, mayor of Albuera, Leyte, and another inmate, identified as Raul Yap, were killed in a shootout with police around 4 a.m. Saturday inside the Leyte Sub-Provincial Jail in Barangay Hispungo, Baybay City, Leyte.

PNP spokesman Sr. Supt. Dionardo Carlos said a team of operatives from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) led by Chief Insp. Leo Laraga were out to implement search warrants for illegal drugs and firearms against the two inmates.

The warrants were issued by Judge Tarcelo Sabarre Jr. of the Regional Trial Court Branch 30 in Basey, Samar.

“He (Espinosa) fired on the raiding team. The raiding team fired back and this led to the mayor’s death,” Laraga told AFP.

Yap, also accused of drug trafficking, was likewise killed after he too fired at the officers, Laraga said.

Carlos said in a statement: “Both Espinosa and Yap succumbed to gunshot wounds as a result of the encounter.”

The Interior department, citing initial reports, said police recovered one caliber Super .38 and a magazine with live ammunition from Espinosa’s cell, and one caliber .45 and a magazine with live ammunition from Yap’s cell.

Police were also said to have found one sachet of “suspected shabu” and drug paraphernalia in the cells of Espinosa and Yap.

Radio station DZMM reported, quoting the Leyte provincial administrator, that closed-circuit television footage of the jail was missing.

Internal probe ordered

 As a matter of procedure, the incident will be investigated, he said.

“This incident will undergo investigation to establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the said incident,” Carlos said.

The PNP spokesman said the Eastern Visayas Police Office under Chief Supt. Elmer Beltejar had formed a panel that will look into the incident.

The Regional Internal Affairs Service of the PNP in Eastern Visayas will also conduct its own investigation.

Carlos pointed out that the Leyte Sub-Provincial Jail is administered and managed by the provincial government of Leyte.

Tagged by Duterte

 Albuera’s death followed that of Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom of Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao, who was killed along with his bodyguards at a checkpoint in North Cotabato on October 28.

In August, President Rodrigo Duterte accused Espinosa and his son Kerwin of drug trafficking and demanded they turn themselves in, giving police a “shoot on sight” order if the two resisted arrest.

Mayor Espinosa then surrendered to the national police chief, saying he feared for his life, and was arrested on October 5 over charges of possessing illegal drugs and weapons.

PNP Chief Ronald de la Rosa previously said Espinosa had been listed in official records as a “drug protector,” whose son Kerwin controlled the narcotics trade in the Albuera region.

Kerwin was arrested in the United Arab Emirates last month and is set to return to the Philippines to face drug trafficking charges.

In August, six of the Espinosas’ supporters died in a gunfight with police outside the mayor’s property in Albuera where officers said they recovered guns and several grenades.

‘Unfortunate’

 Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said he would wait for the results of the probe before issuing commentary.

“Right now it’s really under investigation so wala po tayong actual na komentaryo patungkol diyan [so we cannot give an actual comment on that],” Abella told government-run dzRB radio.

“Investigation is now ongoing but initial reports indicate that the former mayor was killed while being served a search warrant,” Andanar said in a text message to reporters.

Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno said that while Espinosa and Yap were high-profile inmates linked to the illegal drug trade, it was necessary for the police to adhere to their operations manual and respect the rights of the suspects, “unless their lives are endangered.”

“It is unfortunate that this operation led to this (death of the inmates), but of course, we also do not want our people (policemen) to be the one lying dead in the course of doing their job,” he said in a statement.</s>Philippine police killed a town mayor in his jail cell in a purported gunbattle on Saturday, the second killing in a week of a politician linked to illegal drugs under President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal crackdown.

Rolando Espinosa Sr., the mayor of the town of Albuera in the central province of Leyte, and a fellow inmate were shot dead before dawn after they fired at officers who staged a raid in search of firearms and illegal drugs in the provincial jail in Leyte's Baybay city, police said.

Some officials and an anti-crime watchdog have called for an investigation of the circumstances of the killings, wondering how the mayor and the other inmate got hold of guns and what prompted them to clash with several policemen while in detention.

"Offhand, I can smell extrajudicial killing," said Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former national police chief, adding that the suspicious deaths were the "biggest challenge" to the credibility of the national police force, which is undertaking the anti-drug crackdown.

Last week, police allegedly killed another town mayor, Samsudin Dimaukom, and nine of his men in a gunbattle in the southern Philippines.

Espinosa and Dimaukom were among more than 160 officials named publicly by Duterte in August as part of a shame campaign. Espinosa's son, an alleged drug lord, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates' capital city of Abu Dhabi last month.

After being linked by Duterte to illegal drugs, Espinosa surrendered to the national police chief in August in a nationally televised event. He was later released, but was arrested last month after being indicted on drug and illegal possession of firearm charges.

Police estimate that more than 3,600 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since Duterte took office on June 30. Many of those killed in the initial months of the crackdown were poor drug suspects, and police said "high-value targets," including mayors and drug lords, would be their next target in a new phase of the crackdown that was launched late last month.

The unprecedented crackdown and killings have helped ease crime, but the U.S. and other Western governments, along with human rights watchdogs, have been alarmed and called for an end to the killings. One human rights advocate has called the killings under Duterte a "human rights calamity."

Duterte has lashed out at President Barack Obama and other critics, saying he was dealing with a pandemic that has afflicted politics, corrupted even generals and threatened to turn the country into what he describes as a "narco state" similar to some Latin American countries.</s>Philippine police say a detained town mayor has been killed in his jail cell in a purported gunbattle with officers in the second killing in a week of a politician linked to illegal drugs under the president's brutal crackdown.

Police say Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. of Albuera town in central Leyte province and a fellow inmate were shot dead before dawn Saturday after they fired at officers who staged a raid in search of firearms and illegal drugs.

Last week, police killed another town mayor, Samsudin Dimaukom, and nine of his men allegedly in a gunbattle in the southern Philippines.

Espinosa and Dimaukom were among more than 160 officials named publicly by Duterte in August as part of a shame campaign.</s>MANILA: A Philippine mayor President Rodrigo Duterte named as being involved in the illegal drug trade was shot dead in jail Saturday, police said, the second local official implicated in narcotics to be killed in two weeks.

Duterte, 71, won May elections in a landslide on a promise to kill tens of thousands of criminals to prevent the Philippines from becoming a narco-state, and has launched an unprecedented war on drugs that has left more than 4,000 people dead.

He had named several local officials, policemen and judges as being involved in the narcotics trade and urged them to surrender.

In August, he accused Rolando Espinosa, the mayor of Albuera town in the central island of Leyte, and his son of drug trafficking and demanded they turn themselves in, giving police a “shoot on sight” order if the two resisted arrest.

Mayor Espinosa then surrendered to the national police chief, saying he feared for his life, and was arrested last month.

But early Saturday morning, police said Espinosa was killed in his cell in the provincial jail after he shot at officers during a search for illegal firearms.

“He fired on the raiding team. The raiding team fired back and this led to the mayor’s death,” chief inspector Leo Laraga of the regional police told Agence France-Presse.

He added that another inmate accused of drug trafficking was also killed, after he too fired at the officers.

The national police said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding Espinosa’s death as well as possible collusion between guards and inmates to get guns and drugs into the jail.

Police chief Ronald dela Rosa previously said Espinosa had been listed in official records as a “drug protector”, whose son Kerwin controlled the narcotics trade in the Albuera region.

Kerwin was arrested in the United Arab Emirates last month and is set to return to the Philippines to face drug trafficking charges.

In August, six of the Espinosas’ supporters died in a gunfight with police outside the mayor’s property in Albuera where officers said they recovered guns and several grenades.

Another mayor accused of drug trafficking was killed in the southern Philippines in late October.

Police said Samsudin Dimaukom and his security personnel opened fire after anti-narcotics police stopped their vehicles at a checkpoint on suspicion they were transporting illegal drugs. AFP</s>Gatineau police arrested two people and searched two buildings for drugs Thursday afternoon after an investigation that began several weeks ago with a tip from the public.

 

 Police raided an apartment at 73 Bégin St, in the Hull sector, and later a home on Montée de la Source in Cantley, arresting one man, aged 66, and a 57-year-old woman.

They seized 120 grams of cocaine, several grams of marijuana and hashish, $2,350 in cash, a 2008 Honda Civic, and a set of weighing scales.

 

 The man and woman face charges of trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

 

 tspears@postmedia.com</s>A number of questions emerged on Saturday’s brazen killing of Albuera, Leyte mayor Rolando Espinosa inside his jail cell, with the Senate, the Department of Justice and the Leyte provincial government all eyeing separate investigations.

Malacañang said it was “puzzled” with Espinosa’s killing and described it as a huge blow to the anti-drug campaign, considering the late local executive had served as a government asset against illegal drug dealers.

According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), Espinosa fought back at operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) that were serving him a search warrant, at 4 a.m. on Saturday, for illegal possession of firearms inside his cell at the Leyte sub-provincial jail in Baybay City.

An inmate in a separate cell, Raul Yap, was also killed after fighting it out, the PNP claimed.

“I am puzzled because we all know Mayor Espinosa is a big help in the government’s war against drugs. Mayor Espinosa is an asset to the government’s investigation on who’s who in the upper echelon of drug rings,” Palace Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a radio interview.

After being linked by President Rodrigo Duterte to illegal drugs, Espinosa surrendered to no less than PNP Chief Ronald de la Rosa in August. Duterte had issued an ultimatum on the mayor and his son Kerwin to surrender within 24 hours or be killed.

The Espinosas were ordered arrested after authorities nabbed at least P88 million worth of shabu and 13 high-powered firearms and explosives at the Espinosa residence in Sitio Tinago, Barangay Binulho, Albuera town last August.

Kerwin fled but was nabbed in the United Arab Emirates last month and is set to return to the Philippines to face drug trafficking charges.

Andanar said he did not agree with Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s observation that Espinosa was likely a victim of extrajudicial killing.

“In the end, it will be the investigation of the Philippine National Police that we will look into and we will depend our comments on,” Andanar said.

The PNP said on Saturday its Internal Affairs Service would conduct a probe into the jail killing. The Eastern Visayas Police Office under Chief Supt. Elmer Beltejar has also formed a panel to look into the incident.

‘No drugs, firearms’

 The Leyte provincial government is pushing for a separate investigation on the shooting of Espinosa.

Provincial administrator Edgardo Cordeño said the local government, which supervises the detention facility, found out in an inspection last week that there were no illegal drugs and firearms kept by inmates.

This was contrary to the report of the CIDG that illegal drugs and firearms were found inside the prison facility.

“We had an inspection at the jail a week ago and did not discover any illegal contraband inside,” Cordeño told reporters.

The official wondered why the CIDG raided the facility without informing them first. The team entered the jail 4:00 a.m. or seven hours before the provincial government received the copy of search warrant.

The closed circuit television’s digital video recorder got lost after the incident. What was left was the monitor.

Espinosa and Yap were killed when they reportedly “fired upon the raiding team” led by Chief Insp. Leo Laraga of the CIDG.

Judge Tarcelo A. Sabarre, Jr., presiding of Regional Trial Court Branch 30 in Basey, Samar issued the search warrant, believing that the two detainees kept firearms and illegal drugs at their cells.

A police report stated that the raiding team recovered a sachet of suspected shabu and drug paraphernalia from Espinosa.

The team also found 15 sachets of suspected shabu, 27 sachets of suspected dried marijuana, repacking items, and drug paraphernalia from Yap.

The sub-provincial jail has eight cells with a capacity of 15 inmates each. The facility has only 44 prisoners.

Espinosa occupied Cell No. 1 alone while Yap and other inmates stayed in a separate cell.

Senate, NBI inquiries

 Senator Richard Gordon on Sunday said he wanted a separate investigation into the killing of Espinosa and Yap instead of reopening the recently concluded Senate justice committee inquiry on the spate of drug related killings in the country.

Gordon, who heads the Senate justice and human rights committee, said he would file a resolution calling for a Senate investigation into the supposed shootout.

Also on Sunday, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a parallel probe to “avoid a possible whitewash.”

“Our objective, as in all our probes, is to get to the truth. Ultimately, if persons are liable under our laws, they can be held accountable. We all want the truth, no matter how elusive or inconvenient it may be,” Aguirre said.
The mayor of Albuera, Leyte, accused of drug trafficking, is shot dead in jail.