Retired Lt. Gen. Benjamin Santos, one of the senior police officials ordered arrested over the alleged staged confiscation of 990 kilos of shabu valued at P6.7 billion in Tondo in 2022, surrendered Tuesday.

Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, concurrent Philippine National Police spokesperson and Central Luzon police director, said Santos went to Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) operatives after he arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 around 4:48 a.m.

Fajardo said police served a copy of a warrant of arrest issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 44 to Santos.

Santos is among the active and retired PNP officers who were ordered arrested by the court.

“After posting P200,000 bail, around 9:12 a.m., Gen. Santos was released from the custody of CIDG pursuant to the release order issued by the court,” Fajardo told reporters in a message on Viber.

The court exonerated Santos of the non-bailable offense of planting of evidence.

CIDG director Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre said Santos, who was the PNP deputy chief for operations during the anti-drug operations, came from Singapore.

Torre said Santos communicated with them last week his intention to surrender.

There are only seven police officers implicated in the case who remain at large.

''We are confident that eventually all these seven will be accounted for,” Torre said in a news briefing. DMS