MANILA, Philippines — Manila Police District (MPD) Chief Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. has identified the “drug queen” tagged by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) as the person involved in the recycling of seized drugs in cahoots with corrupt policemen.

Danao named the drug queen as a certain Guia Gomez Castro, a barangay official in Sampaloc in the nation’s capital city.

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In a statement sent to reporters, Danao said Castro, barangay chair in Sampaloc, Manila, went into hiding.

“June 2018 unang umugong sa MPD na mauupo bilang DISTRICT DIRECTOR si GENERAL DANAO at posibleng sumibat o nagtago na si Guia Gomez [Castro,]” read the MPD chief’s statement sent to reporters on Wednesday.



(It was in June 2018 when rumors about Danao’s likely assumption as MPD District Director started and which possibly prompted Guia Gomez Castro to go into hiding.)

Danao noted that on July 10, 2018, the Manila Barangay Bureau released a resolution to appoint Antonio Calima as barangay chairman to replace Castro.



Danao added that Castro is a “priority target” of MPD’s crackdown on illegal drugs.



In a press conference at the Quezon City Police District in Camp Karingal on Wednesday, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said Castro won in the 2018 barangay polls but failed to take her oath.

“(D)uring election last year, she ran, she won, but she was not able to take her oath as barangay chairwoman,” Eleazar said.

‘Husband still in PH’

The NCRPO chief, however, said Castro’s husband – identified as a certain Dennis Castro, may still be in the country.

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“Her husband, Dennis Castro is also a former barangay chairman. He is also in cahoots with [drug queen’s] group,” Eleazar also said in Filipino.

“Initially, it was reported that he went abroad but we received news that he is now in the Philippines,” he added.

Eleazar further said that he received information that Dennis came from Canada or the United States.

He said they are still conducting a case build-up against Castro and her accomplices.

“We are reviving the case build-up against the drug queen and her cohorts and we are in coordination with other agency particularly with PDEA [Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency],” Eleazar said. /kga

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