A SUSPECTED member of the Mexican Sinaloa drug syndicate was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Regional Trial Court in Makati City four years after he was arrested for selling P12 million worth of cocaine.
Aside from the prison term, Judge Selma Palacio Alaras also ordered Horacio Hernandez Herrera to pay a fine of P500,000 to P10 million.
In her ruling, Judge Selma held that Herrera was guilty of violating Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Herrera was arrested in January 11, 2015, in a buy bust inside a restaurant along Makati Avenue by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the now-dissolved Philippine National Police-Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force.
The trial court gave weight to the testimony of Intelligence Officer 1 Errold Dayrit and other operatives who conducted the buy-bust operation and arrested Herrera upon the turnover of the marked money,
“Dayrit was categorical and consistent that the accused was red-handed selling him cocaine. The court gives full faith and credit to the testimony of IO1 Dayrit and the other operatives who were properly performing their duties absent any proof of improper motive,” the ruling said.
“After due assessment of the facts and evidence adduced, the court is of the considered view that there is basis to support a finding of guilt beyond reasonable doubt against the accused as the circumstances surrounding his arrest are in order,” it added.
Herrera had denied the charges against him, claiming there was no valid arrest and accused the police officers of robbery, kidnapping and extortion.
He claimed that he is in the country to put up an “Air Water” business and a restaurant.
He said he met a certain Sarah Nazareno who introduced him to two Chinese men who asked him to bring “ice.”
In his affidavit, he believed that Nazareno was the one who had set him up.
Herrera said he will appeal the decision as he maintained his innocence.
“This case is very straight forward—there was a buy bust, he was there, he was selling drugs, the police arrested him. It’s that simple. So, there is no other way that the court could have found otherwise. The accused testified, he was his only witness. It’s very obvious that we have very solid evidence against the accused,” said Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, who handled the case.