By Nitz Arancon
NARCOTICS agents on Tuesday arrested an ex-policeman who once served as a member of an elite police unit feared by the mob because of its exploits in crime fighting.
ONCE A CRIME FIGHTER. Retired SPO1 Reynaldo dela Victoria, a former member of the now defunct Intelligence Special Operations Group (Isog) of the Cagayan de Oro police, ponders at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) here, following his arrest for allegedly selling illegal substances. The group was once the nemesis of organized crime and insurgents in the city, and dela Victoria contributed to many of its feats against notorious criminals and rebels. – photo by Nitz Arancon
Former SPO1 Reynaldo dela Victoria, one of the youngest members of the now defunct Intelligence Special Operations Group (Isog) led by the late former Supt. Eleuterio “Dodong” Amora, found himself exactly where he and other members of the once elite police group made arrested criminals stand.
Dela Victoria, now 56, was arrested by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) at an inn along Capistrano Street.
PDEA regional director Emerson Margate said the ex-policeman was selling illegal drugs.
The PDEA pressed charges against dela Victoria for drug pushing before the city prosecutor’s office yesterday.
Margate presented dela Victoria to reporters yesterday morning hours after an entrapment staged at King Lawrence Inn along Capistrano St. on Tuesday night.
Margate said agents seized from dela Victoria some 25 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated value of P175 thousand.
He said dela Victoria also yielded some P2 thousand in marked money and illegal drug paraphernalia.
Margate said dela Victoria, who retired from the National Police in March 2014, was on top of the list of suspected drug dealers in Region 10.
He said the PDEA has been keeping an eye on the former policeman, and monitoring his activities for years.
Dela Victoria was among those who were always in the front line during Isog’s operations in the ’90s. The group was seen as a nemesis of crime syndicates and armed communist rebels, some of whom were killed in broad daylight and in full public view because they chose to fight the elite police group.
According to friends, dela Victoria may have opted for a life of crime after his retirement due to family and other personal problems, aggravated by his being unable to collect retirement benefits because of pending cases. This could not be independently verified at presstime.