THE Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday said a suspect involved in the drug cases of former senator Leila de Lima and five security officers of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) were arrested Tuesday night after the detainee was reported missing from his holding center.
DOJ spokesman Jose Dominic Clavano said John Adrian “Jad” Dera managed to sneak out of his detention cell with the help of the five NBI security officers.
Clavano said Dera and his escorts were arrested at around 12 midnight Tuesday upon their return to the NBI headquarters by members of a task force created after higher ups received information that Dera was “missing.”
Clavano said the chief of the NBI’s Security Management Section, whom he did not name, has been relieved from his post pending an investigation into how Dera was able to get out of his detention center.
The probe, he said, would also include a determination if it has been a practice of some NBI security officers to escort detainees out of their detention cells and back.
“I just want to emphasize that this incident has revealed that there is connivance between certain people in detention and those in the NBI that allow for them to temporarily get out of the detention center and come back in,” Clavano said.
He said the charges to be filed against the erring NBI security officers will still be determined once the investigation is completed.
He said members of the task force confiscated money, firearms, cellphones, and personal stuff in a black sling bag found in the group’s possession. Clavano declined to give the amount of money confiscated.
Clavano said there were unverified reports that Dera and his escorts were spotted somewhere in Makati City the night he went missing from his detention cell.
Raymond Palad, Dera’s legal counsel, said his client’s trip outside of the NBI was authorized as he sought medical attention.
Palad said Dera was escorted by the NBI security officers using a marked vehicle, as he noted that his client has been brought several times to the hospital due to health concerns, which he said can be verified through hospital records.
