BIG HAUL. A policeman conducts an inventory of evidence seized from a drug suspect who was arrested in Barangay Casuntingan, Mandaue City past midnight Saturday (Jan. 6, 2023). Marichu Añura yielded PHP20.7 million worth of suspected shabu. (Photo courtesy of Mandaue City Police Office)
CEBU CITY – Three kilos of suspected shabu amounting to PHP20.7 million were seized during a joint covert operation in Mandaue City past midnight Saturday.
Marichu Oyon-Oyon Añura was arrested in a residential village in Barangay Casuntingan after operatives of the Mandaue City Police, Regional Drugs Enforcement Unit and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency conducted a buy-bust.
Col. Maribel Getingan, chief of the Mandaue Police, said prior to the buy-bust, police conducted covert operations on the suspect, classified as high-value target at the regional level.
The illegal drugs seized from Añura were intended for major cities Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, Cebu, and other parts of Cebu province.
Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin, chief of the Police Regional Office-7, said Añura’s arrest is pivotal in the drug supply reduction strategy of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the region.
“This is the first major anti-drug accomplishment for 2024 and this will set the template for the level of aggressiveness in our strategy to curb illegal drugs in Central Visayas, towards the realization of the BIDA Program of (Interior and Local Government) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. and (the PNP’s) 5-focused agenda,” he said in a press statement.
BIDA (Buhay Ingatan, Droga'y Ayawan) is the flagship anti-illegal drugs program of the Marcos administration designed to reduce drug demand and proliferation by empowering communities and raising public awareness on the ill-effects of illegal substances.
On the other hand, the PNP’s 5-Focused agenda are aggressive and honest law enforcement operations; personnel morale and welfare; integrity enhancement; information and communications technology development; and community engagement. (PNA)
