THE younger brother of a high profile inmate of the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) was arrested in a drug bust in the village of Natumolan, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, on Thursday, November 10.
Police identified the suspect as Leoncio Colanggo, 39, a resident of Bayabas village, Cagayan de Oro City, and the younger brother of Herbert Colanggo, a convicted felon who had testified against Senator Leila de Lima in a congressional inquiry.
During the body search, the police recovered five sachets of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or "shabu" from Colanggo.
The confiscated evidences were brought to the Philippine National Police crime laboratory while the suspect will be charged with violations of the Dangerous Drugs Act.
Hera Colanggo, Herbert Colanggo’s daughter who lives in Tagoloan town, said her uncle was on his way to Butuan City and just dropped by her house to give her some money, adding her uncle normally visits her.
"Nakauban man gyud na siya og mga barkada nga tigamitan sa droga. Pag abot niya nakita nga nagdala siya og gamay isa raman to [sachet] (He has friends who use illegal drugs. When he arrived, he was caught possessing only one [sachet]) of shabu," she added.
Northern Mindanao police spokesperson Superintendent Surki Sereñas said the police are conducting an investigation to establish the suspect's connection with high profile drug personalities at the NBP.
"But his being a younger brother of high profile Bilibid inmate Herbert Colanggo does not require too much analysis for us to establish his connection to the drug trade network of his brother. We just need confirmations of details," Sereñas said.
