THREE drug pushers were killed and P68 million worth of illegal drugs believed to be shabu were seized in a buy-bust operation that climaxed in a chase and shootout from Barangay Campo 4, Talisay City to the Transcentral Highway in Barangay Taptap, Thursday evening, June 10, 2021.
The operation was led by the Police Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEG).
PDEG Director Police Brigadier General Remus B. Medina said that after the transaction, the three drug pushers noticed the presence of the police, prompting them to start shooting.
"We conducted a buy-bust operation, initially in Talisay City. We finished the operation, but the group noticed that the people they transacted with were operatives, so they started a shootout," Medina told the press in Tagalog.
The three drug pushers jumped into a black Toyota Vios with no plate number.
The anti-drug operatives immediately coordinated with the police, including the Highway Patrol Group, Cebu City Police Office, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 7.
The police thwarted the drug pushers on the Transcentral Highway where a gunfight ensued. The three drug pushers were shot dead. There have been no reported casualties among government personnel.
The police seized 10 kilos of what was believed to be shabu with a Dangerous Drugs Board value of P68 million.
Firearms, including an M16 Armalite rifle, and fake money used in the buy-bust operation worth P2.8 million were also confiscated.
The identities of the three dead drug dealers are still being ascertained considering the absence of IDs in the possession of the suspects, Medina said.
According to one source, one of the three drug pushers was a former hitman for the self-confessed drug lord, Franz Sabalones. (PAC, REV,NCR)