PDEA operatives nab suspected drug courier
-A A +AThursday, June 21, 2012
KIDAPAWAN CITY--Authorities arrested 28-year-old Teddy Atabelo in a buy-bust raid here, around 2:30 a.m., Wednesday, said a spokesman from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Davao Region.
PDEA-Davao spokesman Vince Lachica said they confiscated from the suspect 13 sachets of suspected shabu and dried marijuana leaves, both considered illegal drugs.
The drugs were valued at P13 thousand, according to Lachica.
The arrest of Atabelo, reports said, came after they received information
from a concerned citizen from Barangay Balindog.
Atabelo then became the subject of surveillance and monitoring of PDEA-12 and other law enforcement agencies.
When one of their agents who posted as buyer was able to purchase such product, authorities then raided the suspect’s house and caught him doing a pot session.
Atabelo admitted to authorities a friend he identified only in his alias as Lek-Lek dropped the stocks, just last night.
Village officials of Barangay Balindog who immediately went to Atabelo’s house to verify his arrest were shocked when they learned of his drug trade.
Barangay Balindog chair Maritess Villanueva was one of the witnesses of the raid that took place, around 2:30 a.m., Wednesday.
She confirmed that Atabelo is a resident of her village and that she knows his family and relatives to be of good standing in the community.
Atabelo was immediately placed inside lockup cell of the Kidapawan City PNP for safekeeping while PDEA-Davao operatives prepare charges of violation of sections 5, 11, 12, and 13 of the Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act against him.
“We have yet to conduct further investigation of the case. We would like to know his cohorts so we could conduct operations against them,” said Lachica.
He stressed the arrest of Atabelo was the second operation the PDEA-Davao Region conducted since last week in North Cotabato.
On Saturday night, they arrested Michael Palmes, 31, where they confiscated from him illegal drugs valued at P20 thousand.
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on June 21, 2012.
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