Ex-drug user takes the witness stand

A convicted felon tapped by investigators to join a buy bust operation to catch businessman Leo S. Pangelinan in the act of selling drugs took the witness stand during the second day of the federal grand jury trial yesterday.

Considered one of two key witnesses to the criminal case, Vicente Aldan Sablan was summoned to the courtroom to narrate his side of the story.

Otherwise known as “Ben,” the former drug user was hired by the CNMI Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force as a confidential informant, a direct link between the suspect and investigators.

In his testimony, Mr. Sablan told jurors he bought $300 worth of crystal metamphetamine from Mr. Pangelinan last year, as directed by DEA agents.

He added that after every undercover buy, he would secretly meet with investigators to make a report.

Asst. US Attorney John Rice introduced jurors to a vital piece of evidence that sought to substantiate Mr. Sablan’s testimony.

The prosecution produced a recorded conversation between Mr. Pangelinan and Mr. Sablan at the defendant’s residence in Capitol Hill, where the alleged business transaction took place.

The conversation was apparently between two men, speaking in Chamorro.

As the witness described, the voices on the tape belonged to him and the suspect. He added that Mr. Pangelinan, during that taped conversation, told him that all preparations have been made for the “ice” Mr. Sablan was about to buy.

The witness claimed he turned over a certain amount of cash to the defendant in exchange for the merchandise.

In the defense panel’s cross-examination of the witness, lawyer Joey Arriola probed on Mr. Sablan’s credibility as a witness.

Mr. Sablan, a fisherman by profession, admitted to the court he was a drug user and occasionally sold drugs to users in the past. He was also convicted of committing theft and was sentenced to four months in jail for stealing tires.

The defense and prosecution panels will continue presenting their cases before the US District Court today in the jury trial of Mr. Pangelinan, who has been indicted before the federal grand jury on charges of possession of controlled substances on four counts.

The charges include conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crystal metamphetamine, its sale and distribution, and possessing with intent to distribute metamphetamine at different quantities.