FLASH REPORT: Sinasabing pamangkin at former aide ni Sen. Leila De Lima at kaniyang co-accused sa kasong droga, arestado ng NBI sa Pampanga | Ulat ni @maan_macapagal pic.twitter.com/FRySSPdIiz

— DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) August 15, 2019

MANILA (UPDATE) -- The National Bureau of Investigation arrested Friday the alleged nephew and former aide of Sen. Leila De Lima, her co-accused in 2 drug cases, after 2 years in hiding, his lawyer said.

Jose Adrian Dera, who allegedly conspired with De Lima to sell illegal drugs at the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa, was arrested in his house in Pampanga province, said his lawyer Raymund Palad.

Dera was also accused by New Bilibid Prison inmates Hans Tan and Peter Co of orchestrating the arrest of the latter's niece on drug charges and demanding millions of pesos and vehicles in exchange for her release.

De Lima said she does not know Dera.

"He is not a nephew or a relative of mine of any degree. He has not worked for me as an aide or in any capacity," she said in a statement.

The opposition senator, a fierce critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-narcotics drive, has been detained at the national police headquarters in Quezon City since February 2017 over the drug accusations which she said were part of political persecution.

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"May I repeat this for the nth time—I did not demand, solicit, more so receive, directly or indirectly any drug money or any dirty / illegal money from anyone," said De Lima.

Dera will be brought to the NBI headquarters in Manila.

De Lima meanwhile is not entitled to bail and, if found guilty, faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

With reports from Maan Macapagal and Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News