DUMAGUETE CITY -- A young girl died in a motorcycle accident after her parents tried to evade arrest during an anti-illegal drug operation in Bais City, Negros Oriental.
A report from the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) said the couple, Paulito Labanda Amonida, 33, and his wife Johhana Pearl Miraflor Amonida, 31, residents of Barangay II, Bais City were the subject of a buy-bust operation on Wednesday.
The couple had allegedly arranged for a meet-up with an undercover operative from the Bais City Police Station, posing as a buyer, for a suspected shabu sale.
The Amonidas arrived at the agreed place of the transaction with their minor daughter who rode with them on a motorcycle, the police report said.
When the transaction was consummated, the couple got suspicious that they were transacting with a police officer prompting them to drive away and evade arrest but crashed in the process.
As a consequence, the minor, whose name and age were not made available by the police, died while the couple suffered injuries.
Recovered from the suspects were two pieces of heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets containing suspected shabu, marked PHP500 bill used as buy-bust money, 22 pieces of Philippine peso bills of different denominations, a motorcycle, and a lighter.
The seized suspected shabu was estimated to weigh 0.50 grams with a Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB)-estimated value of PHP3,400.
Both suspects are tagged as “street-level targets” and are in the police’s watch list of alleged drug personalities.
Meanwhile, another suspected drug pusher was arrested on the same day in Barangay Mambaid in Jimalalud, Negros Oriental.
At around 11:30 a.m., police personnel in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the province, arrested Jimbert Abrinica Estorco, 32, resident of Polopantao, Jimalalud during a buy-bust operation.
Recovered from him were three small plastic sachets of suspected shabu with an estimated weight of 0.3 grams and a DDB value of PHP2,040.
Estorco is also tagged as a “street-level target” and is in the police’s watch list of suspected drug personalities.
All three suspects are now detained as charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 are being readied against them.
The series of anti-illegal drug operations in Negros Oriental came following a directive from the Police Regional Office-7 (Central Visayas) to relentlessly pursue the government campaign especially with the upcoming Sinulog Festival in Cebu City that is expected to draw large crowds next week, said Col. Julian Entoma, police provincial director. (PNA)
