THREE suspected drug dealers were arrested and some P20,400 worth of shabu were confiscated Wednesday afternoon in a drug bust in Baguio City.
Three other suspected drug personalities were arrested in Kalinga after they were caught having a pot session at the construction site for a school building in Nambaran, Tabuk City in the afternoon of March 16.
In Baguio City, suspected drug dealer Angel Sto. Domingo Francisco, 50, and a resident of Upper QM was arrested by authorities led by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Cordillera.
Francisco was arrested together with Eugene Ramos Bacani, a high value target of PDEA, and Louie Lupian Bacani.
Confiscated during the operation were one cigarette box containing five heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets containing white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride which weighed three grams, five disposable lighters, and one brown shoebox containing drug paraphernalia.
In addition, a weighing scale, glass pipe, improvised glass tooter, scissors, a black aluminum box containing several transparent plastic sachets and one mobile phone were also recovered.
Cases for violation of Section 6, 7, 11, 12 and 15, Article II of RA 9165 are being prepared for filing in court against the suspects.
In Kalinga, tracker teams of Tabuk City Police Station arrested Jerry Mamawag Magdula, 38; Pedro Malabat Tagupa, 30; and Jomel Ramoran Tallod, 37, all construction workers and residents of Angngadanan, Isabela.
Taken from the suspects were one heat-sealed small transparent plastic sachet containing suspected shabu and assorted drug paraphernalia.
Earlier last week, PDEA and the police also uprooted and burned on site P21.52 million marijuana plants in Barangay Loccong, Tinglayan, Kalinga.
During the disposal of the plants, operatives discovered 107,600 fully grown marijuana plants in five plantations with a total land area of 5,650 square meters.
On March 14, 2019, joint elements of PDEA provincial offices from Kalinga, Ifugao, Apayao and Mt. Province, Tinglayan MPS, RMFB 1503rd, Kalinga DEU and KPMFC 2nd COY led by Aaron Apiit, provincial officer for PDEA-Kalinga, travelled up the mountain of Kalinga by foot and implemented the Marijuana Eradication under PDEA-CAR OPLAN “Linis Barangay VIII”.
Marijuana is the second most abused drug in the country. The plant is grown in the mountains of Cordillera.
This year, the PDEA and PNP conducted eight marijuana eradication operations in the Cordillera. (With a report from Jonathan Llanes)