DUMAGUETE CITY – Close to PHP200,000 worth of suspected shabu was confiscated and three suspected drug personalities were arrested during anti-illegal drug operations in Negros Oriental in the past two days.
A report from the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) said the latest arrest was on Thursday during a joint operation by police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Negros Oriental operatives in Tayasan, Negros Oriental.
Nabbed during the said operation in Barangay Tambulan, Tayasan was suspect Edgar delos Niños Cabrera, a resident of the same village.
A search of his home by virtue of a court warrant led to the recovery of 29 transparent plastic sachets containing suspected shabu, assorted drug paraphernalia, a caliber .357 Magnum revolver and three rounds of live ammunition.
The alleged shabu weighed more or less three grams with a Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) value of PHP20,400.
Charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and for violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition are to be filed against the suspect.
Meanwhile, two other suspects were arrested in separate anti-illegal drug operations Wednesday in the province.
Police and PDEA personnel seized some PHP170,000 worth of suspected shabu in Barangay Calindagan in Dumaguete City from the suspect, Rovil Aranas Villar, 39, of Barangay Bajumpandan.
Villar was arrested around 11:05 p.m. in by elements of the Provincial Intelligence Bureau-Special Operations Group of NOPPO, the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit, the Dumaguete Police Station, and the PDEA during a buy-bust.
Recovered from the suspect were three heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets, a PHP1,000 marked bill used in the transaction, and PHP900 cash.
The suspected shabu was weighed around 25 grams with a Dangerous Drugs Board value of PHP170,000.
In another buy-bust operation, a team of police and PDEA-Negros Oriental operatives also arrested suspect Marlon Quisel Ruales, 30, of Barangay Tapon Norte in San Jose town.
The operatives confiscated from Ruales four transparent plastic sachets containing suspected shabu during the buy-bust, and a PHP500 marked bill used in the transaction.
The suspected shabu was estimated to weigh 0.50 grams with a DDB value of PHP 3,400.
The suspects are now detained pending the filing of appropriate criminal charges against them. (PNA)
