AN ESTIMATED P230,000 worth of “shabu” or methamphetamine hydrochloride was seized in separate drug busts of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) in Bacolod City over the weekend.
The operations led to the arrest of Mary Jane Espanola, 44; Noel Mediola, 47; and Venzel Empase, 25, all residents of Barangay 14; Monica Mendiola, 23, of Barangay Villamonte; and Jovy Treyes, 36,of Purok Gonzaga, Barangay Taculing, Bacolod City.
Police Major Jovil Sedel, chief of Police Station 1, said Espanola and her companions Mediola, Empase and Mendiola, were arrested at about 1 p.m. Sunday, January 12, 2020 after they sold a sachet of shabu to a police undercover at Purok Boulevard, Barangay 14.
Recovered from the suspects’ possession were 18 sachets of shabu with estimated market value of P180,000, a .38 caliber, six live ammunitions of .38 caliber, the P500 marked money and drug paraphernalia.
Sedel said Espanola was identified as a high-value target in Bacolod City and was under surveillance for almost a month before her arrest along with her companions.
On Saturday, January 11, Treyes was arrested at about 10 p.m. by operatives of Police Station 8 led by Major Charles Gever at Purok Kahirup, Barangay Singcang-Airport, Bacolod City.
Recovered from Treyes’s possession were seven sachets of shabu with estimated market value of P50,000 and the P200 marked money.
The suspects are detained at the custodial facilities of Police Stations 1 and 8 and are facing charges for violation of Republic Act (RA) 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Meanwhile, a 42-year old man was arrested on Saturday morning by operatives of Police Station 1 for illegal possession firearms and illegal drugs at Lacson-Hernaez Streets, Barangay 38.
Police identified the suspect as Ronel Brillantes, 42, of Barangay Mansilingan.
Sedel said Brillantes was arrested after he engaged an altercation with traffic enforcer Alvin Rivera at about 11 a.m.
He said the suspect was about to get an unidentified firearm inside his sling bag when Corporals Walter Relota and Raymond Tubilla and the React Act arrived in the area.
Police recovered from Brillantes’s possession were one Para Ordnance pistol with magazine and loaded with seven live ammunition, a sachet of shabu with estimated market value of P24,000, drug paraphernalia, a sling bag and a Yamaha motorcycle.
The suspect is detained at the custodial facility of Police Station 1 and will face charges for violation of illegal firearms and RA 9165.