A DISMISSED policeman was apprehended in a buy-bust conducted by the local police at Barangay Lantad in Silay City, Negros Occidental at about 3 p.m. Monday, August 15, 2022.
Silay City Police Station Chief Lieutenant Colonel Mark Darroca identified the suspect as Julius Octavio, 63, of the
barangay’s Sitio Beranio.
Police records showed Octavio, who was previously holding the position of Senior Police Officer 1, was dismissed from service in 1998 after he had gone absent without official leave.
Darroca said Octavio, who is considered a high value individual, has been under surveillance for a long time already.
In fact, Darroca recalled that the former policeman had been on their watchlist when he was still the head of the Provincial Drugs Enforcement Unit.
He said that Octavio was arrested in 2015 for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and Republic Act 10591 or illegal possession of firearms.
Some eight sachets of suspected shabu weighing six grams and valued at P40,800, a cellular phone and P4,000 in cash were recovered from Octavio upon his arrest, police records showed.
In Victorias City, Joe Francis Ignacio, 39; and Joseph Gilvero, 36, residents of the Barangays 4 and
3, respectively, were arrested with five grams of suspected shabu valued at P102,000 during a buy-bust in Barangay 14 at about 7 p.m. Monday.
The police seized 15 heat sealed transparent plastic sachets containing suspected shabu including the buy-bust item and drug paraphernalia were confiscated from Ignacio upon his arrest while seven sachets of the
banned substance were seized from Gilvero.
Meanwhile, in Bacolod, the City Drugs Enforcement Unit (CDEU) recovered P1.4 million worth of suspected shabu which is believed to be intended for distribution during the MassKara Festival.
Lieutenant Joeven Mogato, team leader CDEU, said they arrested Jeboy James Poneles, alias “James,” 21, of Purok Lampirong, in the city’s Barangay 2 at about 8 p.m. in Purok Kahirup in Barangay Singcang-Airport.
Mogato said that the recent huge drug haul only indicates that the drug peddlers have been repacking their
supply as early as now because they know that security will be tight during the MassKara Festival.
He said the supplies of illegal drugs entering the province through the ports in San Carlos and Escalante cities are from Luzon.