By Dhel Nazario

The reported disappearances of the seven teenagers in Pasay City may be linked to illegal drugs, a Pasay City police official said.

According to Lt. Colonel Deanry Francisco, Assistant Chief of Police for Administration (ACOPA), the seven teenagers were discovered, during the course of initial investigation, to be listed under the illegal drugs watch-list of their respective barangays.

“If you are going to ask the barangay, they (teenagers) have a notoriety for their alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade,” he said in Filipino in an interview with Manila Bulletin.

He noted that they were looking at the possibility that they may have been abducted by a syndicate after potentially double dealing with them, often associated with drug pushers who ran away with the profit they gained after selling narcotics in the streets.

Francisco however, did not mention the names of those involved but said that the some of the teenagers knew each other.

“Initially there were 10 who went missing but only seven of them reported due to the three having reported engagement in illegal drugs as well,” he added.

As of now, Francisco said that they were still investigating the incident and were trying to acquire additional footage from the areas where the teenagers were said to have been last seen.

The initial footage they got from the barangay helped them gain access to a plate number from one of vehicles said to have been used to abduct the victims.

The owner of the vehicle that was issued the license plate has already to the Station Investigation and Detective Management Branch (SIDMB) of the Pasay City Police to clear his name. Michael Mejia, claimed that the plate number seen on the CCTV footage of a van which said to have abducted the victims, was from his Toyota Vios.

He explained to Police Lt. Allan Valdez, SIDMB Chief, that the plate number AEA 1051 seen on the van was stolen from his car last April 25, 2015 from a still unidentified suspect while it was parked near the Philippine Heart Center on Mabuhay St., Quezon.City

During this time as well, the plate number of his friend Rizaki Taopo was also stolen. The plate number ADA 6460 was taken from his Mitsubishi Mirage G4.