THE Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) seized Thursday, August 9, an estimated P5.1 million worth of illegal drugs in a drug bust at Barangay Singcang-Airport, a day after the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) also recovered about P1.2 million worth of drugs in a drug raid at the said village.
Personnel of Police Station 8 raided the rented house of Errol Gimarangan, 28, of Purok Gaisano, Barangay Alijis, around 7 p.m.
Chief Inspector Ruel Culanag, head of Police Station 8, said Gimarangan is a newly identified drug personality but he may also be considered a high-value target because of the big drug recovery.
Culanag said the suspect, who reportedly works as a barber, allegedly sold shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) to a police agent for P500.
Police recovered from Gimarangan 19 sachets of suspected shabu weighing 430 grams, the P500 marked money and P400 in cash.
Culanag said they will investigate if indeed the suspect is a resident of Alijis village because he opted to rent a house in Barangay Singcang-Airport for about five months now despite he is just living in Bacolod.
Culanag said Gimarangan just recently engaged in the illegal drug trade due to poverty.
"He (Gimarangan) is allegedly getting his supply from his sources in Negros Occidental but he refused to further provide information about it," Culanag added.
The police chief also said that the suspect would reportedly get the supply from different areas so he cannot be traced, then he distributes the items to his clients in different areas in Bacolod.
He was placed under surveillance for more than a week.
Culanag said they are also investigating if the suspect knows ex-convicts Pastor Palo and Renante Sonalan, both high-value targets, who yielded P1.02 million worth of suspected shabu in a drug bust at Singcang-Airport village on Wednesday, August 8.
Their alleged drug runners Jesus Paurillo, and Jesus Rodriguez, who were both street-level targets, were also busted in the operation.
Culanag also said that Gimarangan alleged that he also sometimes gets his supply from San Carlos City, but the police have yet to verify his claim.
Read: P72-M shabu seized in Negros Occidental drug bust, 3 suspects escape
Gimarangan. who refused a media interview, is detained at the station. He will be facing charges for sale and illegal possession of dangerous drugs.
Also arrested was Eugene Sotto, 31, of Barangay Banago, a newly-identified drug personality, after police seized from him four sachets of suspected shabu amounting to P5,000.
He is detained at Police Station 3.
In Talisay City, William Gustilo, 56, of Barangay Concepcion, was arrested in a buy-bust at the said village on Wednesday which resulted to a confiscation of four sachets of suspected shabu, an improvised tooter, two lighters, the P500 marked money, coin purse, P500 in cash, and a cellular phone.
He is a drug surrenderer and a top street level target drug personality of the city police.