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By JOEY NACALABAN
and NITZ ARANCON
Correspondents .

POLICE operatives yesterday shot and killed a suspected drug peddler — the seventh slain in the bloody war on drugs here — and arrested four others since Thursday night in separate anti-drug operations in the city.

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Senior Insp. Jason  Santo Domingo, Agora police station chief, identified the fatality as Wilmark Maestre, 52, of St. John, Barangay Puntod, this city.

Santo Domingo identified the four arrested suspects as Sherwin Joseph Saco, 32, of Sta. Cecilia Village in Gusa, Raul Pajo, 48,  of 12th Street in Nazareth, Tristan Lasantas, 32, of 7th Street in Nazareth, and Dan Veniel Bagares, 34, of Molawan Street, 6th Division in Patag.

Supt. Mardy Hortillosa, Cagayan de Oro City Police Office spokesman, said Maestre was the 7th drug suspect killed in the city since the local police launched a renewed campaign against illegal drugs.

Santo Domingo said Maestre succumbed to five gunshot wounds all over. Maestre was rushed to Northern Mindanao Medical Center where he was declared dead by a physician.

The incident happened at 3 am Friday during a buy-and-bust operation at Purok 2 in Barangay Gusa.

Santo Domingo said Maestre, a suspected drug peddler and believed to be behind burglary cases, fired at an undercover police officer with a caliber .38 revolved but missed.

He said the police shot back, hit and killed the suspect.

Santo Domingo claimed Maestre was armed with a caliber .38 revolver and had six sachets of suspected shabu. He also had over P1 thousand in cash.

Meanwhile, the Cogon police  headed by Senior Insp. Dennis Quindara claimed to have seized sachets of suspected shabu from Saco, Pajo, and Lasanta.

On Thursday evening, a joint operation composed of Bulua police and City Intelligence Ordnance and Philippine Drug Enforcement Administration conducted an anti-drug operation in Barangay Patag.

Police arrested Bagares on Molawan Street. Allegedly seized from him was a P500 marked money, P250 in cash, and two sachets of suspected shabu. He is now temporarily detained at Bulua police mini-cell awaiting the proper filing of charges.

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