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MANILA, Philippines — A retired police general who left the country after he and several others were ordered arrested for their involvement in the “staged” P6.7 billion drug bust in 2022 has returned and surrendered to authorities, according to the Philippine National Police.

PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said that retired Police Lt. Gen. Benjamin Santos Jr., the former PNP deputy chief for operations, posted bail of P200,000 upon his arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City early Tuesday.

Hours later, he was released from the custody of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group based on a court order.

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READ: Court orders arrest of 29 in ‘staged’ antidrug ops

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Santos, along with 28 other former and active policemen, was ordered arrested by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 44 on Jan. 14., for alleged violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, which deals with the delays or mishandling of drug cases at the prosecution stage. It set bail at P200,000 per respondent.

READ: Court issues hold departure order vs 30 cops in ‘staged’ drug bust

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The PNP reported last month that one of the two police generals left the country on Jan. 8, days ahead of the issuance of the arrest warrant. The PNP then said last week that the police official, whom it did not identify, had sent surrender feelers and expressed his readiness to return to the country.

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The other police general, former PNP Drug Enforcement Group Director retired Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo, remains in hiding. Of the 29 police officers ordered arrested by the court, 21 were already in custody as of last week.

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The charges against them were in connection with a drug bust operation that, when first reported, supposedly led to the arrest of Police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo and a certain Ney Atadero.

Mayo, who was also among those charged, faces drug cases earlier filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) before the Manila court. He was dismissed from the PNP in 2023.

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Based on the findings of the National Police Commission, Mayo’s arrest was “staged” by the police to cover up irregularities in his earlier arrest. These included their failure to document the antidrug operation and Mayo’s involvement in the seizure of over P6 billion worth of drugs at the Wealth and Personal Development (WPD) Lending office in Tondo, which he owned.

Police initially claimed that Mayo was arrested on Quiapo Bridge during a pursuit operation on Oct. 9, 2022, in which he yielded two kilos of “shabu.”

But closed-circuit television camera footage later revealed that Mayo was arrested a day earlier in Bambang, also in Manila.

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According to the DOJ, despite Mayo being in custody for several hours at WPD Lending, no formal arrest or inventory of his supposed drug cache was recorded.

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