Philadelphia's Public Defender today petitioned the courts to dismiss charges or grant new trial to another 26 persons convicted on drug charges - all allegedly arrested based on false information by veteran narcotics Officer Jeffrey Cujdik and his paid confidential informant.

Together with 24 petitions filed on April 3 and three last Wednesday, today's filings will bring to 53 the number of people whose convictions could ultimately be dismissed.

As with the earlier petitions, the filings in Common Pleas Court today bring contend that the cases - most of which resulted in guilty pleas - are tainted by allegations by Cujdik's former paid informant, Ventura "Benny" Martinez. Martinez, in a Feb. 9 interview with the Daily News, said he and Cujdik often falsified information to convince judges to sign search and arrest warrants for drug suspects.