THE leader of the Abellana Drug Group, which was linked to the P120-million drug haul in 2017, was arrested on Sunday, April 14.

Archie “Bayot” Abellana, 39, and his suspected cohorts, Marjory Arriesgado, 33, and Lendon Gonzaga, 37, were caught by operatives of the Pardo Police Station during a drug bust at 3:10 a.m. in Sunrise Village in Barangay Bulacao Pardo, Cebu City.

The group yielded 168.14 grams of white substance believed to be shabu worth P1,143,352.

Abellana, a high value target, is the cousin of Michael Abellana, a drug lord reportedly operating inside the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City.

Archie was caught last 2017 by operatives from the City Intelligence Branch (CIB) of the Cebu City Police Office for possession of illegal drugs and was accused of being the drug and money courier of the group.

During a greyhound operation in the Cebu City Jail in August 2017, the jail guards confiscated from Archie a cellphone that he allegedly used to contact Michael, medicines, and drug sniffing paraphernalia with traces of shabu.

He is related to Mercy and Mark Abellana, who were arrested with more than 10 kilos of shabu worth P118,767,000 during an operation last Jan. 28, 2017.

Archie will face charges for violation of R.A. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.