HIGH-VALUE TARGET. Suspect Eleonor Tagra Quistadio, a.k.a "Madam Aya" (in jacket and cap) looks on as police operatives do an on-site inventory of the illegal drugs seized from her during a sting operation in Barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City on Monday night (June 14, 2022). The suspect, from Lianga, Surigao del Sur, yielded about four kilos of shabu worth P27.2 million. (Photo by Jonalyn Jumabis)
CEBU CITY – The chief of the Police Regional Office-Visayas (PRO-7) on Tuesday lauded the authorities who arrested a female high-value drug suspect from Mindanao and seized PHP27.2-million worth of “shabu” in a sting operation in Lapu-Lapu City.
PRO-7 chief Roque Eduard Vega identified the suspect as Eleonor Tagra Quistadio, also known as “Madam Aya”, of St. Christine, Lianga town of Surigao del Sur.
She was arrested in an operation on Monday night in Sitio Sangi, Barangay Pajo in Lapu-Lapu City, after two weeks of surveillance and buy-bust.
“Hers is the biggest haul for the week in Central Visayas. 'Madam Aya' is considered one of the regional high-value targets. I congratulate the team behind the successful operation. I assure the public that your Bisdak Cops will continue to monitor high-value targets in the region,” Vega said in a statement.
He commended the operatives from the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office’s City Intelligence Unit, the Special Weapons and Tactics, and the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit-7 for the accomplishment.
Lt. Col. Jul Mohammad Jamiri, Lapu-Lapu City police’s intelligence unit chief, said they subjected the suspect to an intelligence operation after they received information about her anti-drug trade activities in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Jamiri said the suspect would travel all the way to Cebu from Mindanao to transact with the contacts here.
The police, he said, will determine Quistadio’s level of operation in the Visayas and Mindanao, considering the volume of drugs she was carrying.
The suspect yielded about four kilos of shabu during the operation.
“She is one person of interest which we could consider that she’s a top-level drug personality, knowing the amount of shabu that she has disposed of here,” Jamiri told reporters.
The suspect was charged with violation of Republic Act 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. (PNA)
