MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested a man suspected to be part of a group that sold illegal drugs at the Closeup Forever Summer open-air concert, where 5 attendees died.
Anti-Illegal Drugs Division (AIDD) chief Joel Tovera made the announcement during a press conference on Saturday, May 28.
NBI operatives arrested suspect Joshua Habalo, alias "Josh", late Friday evening during a party at the House of Manila club inside Remmington Hotel in Pasay City.
He was caught in possession of ecstacy tablets, packets of cocaine, and 3 green-colored tablets that may be the illegal designer drug, "green amore", believed to have been sold at the concert.
Green amore is a mixture of ecstacy, methampetamine hydrochloride or shabu, and cialis, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction. Effects include insomnia, loss of appetite, and hypersexuality.
Habalo told Rappler he attended the concert and was high on ecstacy. But he said he did not sell drugs. Nor does he know any of the victims.
The suspect is set to be presented to the Office of the Pasay City Prosecutor for inquest proceedings for charges in violation of Sections 5 and 11, Article II of the Dangerous Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972.
Closeup concert-goers Bianca Fontejon, Lance Garcia, Ariel Leal, Ken Migawa, and Robertson Miller are suspected to have died due to drug overdose, heatstroke, or even poisoning.
An initial NBI autopsy report on Fontejon and Garcia showed they died because of heart attack, water in their lungs, and internal bleeding. Their hearts, said NBI medico legal officer Dr Wilfredo Tierra, were blackened.
The bureau is conducting a parallel investigation on the Closeup incident apart from the Southern Police District.
Entrapment operation
NBI senior investigator Salvador Arteche Jr led an entrapment operation from 11 pm to 2 am against Habalo after getting a tip from a club reservation under the suspect's name.
NBI AIDD agents, in coordination with the Philippine Drug Endorcement Agency and local police, went undercover as club-goers and met Habalo.
Tovera said the suspect offered them ecstacy at P1,500 per tablet.
The agents then agreed to buy 5 ecstacy tablets from Habalo. After he accepted the marked money, the authorities apprehended the suspect.
Habalo was in possession of 10 tables of peach-colored tablets, 3 green-colored capsules, and 5 self-sealing plastic containers with a white powder substance.
The NBI is now conducting tests to determine if all of the confiscated drugs are part of the prohibited drugs list in the country.
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