OVER P1.5 million worth of suspected shabu were seized from high-value individuals (HVI) in separate buy-busts conducted in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue in the past two days.
Police seized a total of 230 grams of white crystalline substance with a street value of P1,564,000 from the separate drug busts.
First to fall were Jhon Michael Arquillano, 26, and Roseller Abella, 31, both residents of Sitio Bliss, Barangay Labangon, Cebu City.
They yielded 50 grams of white crystals believed to be shabu worth P340,000.
The men were arrested by operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 on Friday night, March 13, 2020.
PDEA Intelligence Officer Jessie Cabutotan said Arquillano was the target of their anti-illegal drug operation.
Abella, on the other hand, was identified as Arquillano’s associate in the drug trade.
Cabutotan said they had been monitoring Arquillano in the past week after he was tagged as an HVI.
Meanwhile, Abella reportedly ran errands for Arquillano, especially for transactions in Labangon and its neighboring barangays.
In a separate interview, Arquillano admitted to selling illegal drugs, but claimed that he was only a small-time pusher.
Complaints for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 will be filed against the suspects.
In Mandaue City, police nabbed a former call center agent in a buy-bust on M.L. Quezon St., Barangay Casuntingan at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, March 14.
Operatives of the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) identified the suspect as 22-year-old Judie Aniban Villanueva, a resident of Barangay Lawaan, Talisay City.
Police Lieutenant Col. Franco Rudolf Oriol, head of the City Drug Enforcement Unit of the MCPO, said Villanueva had previously worked as a call center agent before resorting to peddling illegal drugs due to the “bigger income” it brought in.
Oriol said the suspect’s suppliers and contacts were from Talisay City and are now subject of follow-up operations.
Investigation showed that Villanueva could dispose of 500 grams to a kilo of shabu on a weekly basis.
Most of her transactions allegedly happened in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue.
Police were able to confiscate 180 grams of suspected shabu worth P1,224,000 from Villanueva.
The suspect is currently detained at the MCPO detention center. / BBT, KFD, RTF