Man allegedly swallows ‘ice’ found in his possession

A man who allegedly sold stolen items from a burglarized house in Kagman III and was later found in possession of illegal drugs swallowed a small zip-loc bag that contained a substance believed to be methamphetamine or “ice.”
The zip-loc was on a table and was being watched by a detective when John Aldan Castro, 41, swallowed it, according to police detective Catherine B. Pangelinan.

Pangelinan stated in her report that when asked why he swallowed the evidence, Castro replied that it’s the only way not to get charged for “ice.”

The amount of “ice” involved was not indicated in the report.

A green leafy substance that was also seized from Castro tested presumptive positive for marijuana, Pangelinan said.

Police arrested Castro in Kagman III on Wednesday for receiving stolen property and illegal possession of controlled substance. His bail was set at $20,000 cash.

Pangelinan stated in her report that police responded on Feb. 24 to a report of a burglary and theft incident at a house in Kagman III. The suspect or suspects stole gold jewelry, a wristwatch, and three purses, worth a total of $850.

The following day, Pangelinan said, the victim called police to report that her close friend managed to buy her two stolen purses from a man, was later identified as Castro, who is a regular poker customer at Kagman Poker.

Castro had allegedly approached the victim’s friend and offered to sell her a purse. Aware of the items that were stolen from her friend, she asked the suspect to bring the purse to Kagman Poker where she works. Castro later came with two purses. The victim’s friend brought Castro and the purses into the laundry cashier’s booth so the surveillance camera footage would catch the transaction.

The victim’s friend gave Castro $30 for the purses. The friend then told the victim about the purchase and led detective Pangelinan to the poker booth, where they reviewed the camera’s footage. Another detective watched the video and identified Castro in the footage.

Pangelinan said that during her and another detective’s interview at Castro’s house, the suspect denied being in the video but admitted that he was at the laundry and poker establishment when the footage was taken.

During their interview, Pangelinan said she noticed a cup that contained a small zip-lock bag containing a white crystalline substance on the kitchen table. She also found a green leafy substance that appeared to be marijuana on the table.

Pangelinan said that Castro admitted it was “ice” that he purchased the previous night.

Pangelinan took photos of the illegal drugs and asked the narcotics unit to come to the suspect’s house with a narcotics identification test kit.

Pangelinan said that while she was interviewing Castro’s wife outside the house, the other detective informed her that the suspect suddenly swallowed the bag of “ice.”

On Feb. 26, Pangelinan said, a woman appeared at the Commonwealth Bureau of Investigation and surrendered a purse that she also bought from Castro for $15.

The woman said she decided to turn over the purse to police after she later learned that the purse had been stolen from the same victim.