FIVE boys were caught having a pot session with adults when the Cebu City Intelligence Branch (CIB) operatives barged inside a drug den in Barangay Duljo Fatima, Cebu City last Friday night.
“It was the first time I saw minors sniffing illegal drugs,” said Supt. Romeo Santander, CIB chief. “It was disgusting to see them.”
He said the boys shared a sachet of what was believed to be shabu, worth P200.
The CIB rescued the minors, ages 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14. They sell newspapers in downtown Cebu City and are school dropouts.
They were picked up after the arrest of Janet Suarez Domin, the alleged caretaker of the drug den, in a buy-bust operation at 11:30 p.m.
Ten other adults were also caught inside the den, which is about 30 meters from the barangay hall. The den has three rooms, a beauty parlor and illegal gambling machines, said Santander in a phone interview.
Domin was under surveillance for two weeks before the operation pushed through.
Seized from her possession were 253 small sachets of shabu worth P80,000, a .22 caliber revolver with three bullets, and P530 cash.
The drug den occupies the ground floor of a two-storey house and it is near another den, which the CIB raided last January.
Step it up
The CIB’s campaign followed Police Regional Office 7 Director Prudencio Tom Bañas’s order for intensified operations against the illegal drug trade.
Insp. Gomersendo Mandawe, CIB deputy chief, said a junkie led the boys to the drug den, which reportedly operates around the clock.
“Magtampo-tampo daw na sila tag P25 ug P20 aron makapalit og usa ka pakete (They would pool together P25 or P20 each to buy one sachet),” he said.
“Sakto-sakto ra daw ang tama. Mosuyop sila aron magbuntagay sila og baligya og newspaper (They said the effects were just right and would help them stay awake the whole night to sell papers).”
Five illegal gambling machines like moli-moli, video karrera, and bingo slot machines were also confiscated.
“Kon ma-high na, magduwa na sila (Once they get high, they would play),” said Santander.
Counseling
The police official further said they will submit a report about the operation to Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and the Police Coordinating and Advisory Council (PCAC).
The minors were turned over to the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD). Their parents were summoned.
“Ang mga batan-on biktima sila (They are victims),” said Santander.
He said the WCPD will turn the boys over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for counseling.
For her part, Domin said she was forced to work as a caretaker for the drug den because she needed money. Her live-in partner’s income as a carpenter is enough to feed her and their only child.
As a caretaker, she earns P300 per day. She refused to divulge the drug den’s owner.
Other women
Domin’s arrest came a day after the graduation of her 16-year-old daughter from a public high school.
“Pagkahuman nako’g dakop, miingon siya nga mokuyog daw siya nako (After my arrest, my daughter said she wanted to go with me),” she said. “Nagmahay ko nganong misud pa ko ani (I regret doing this).”
Domin’s daughter visited her in the Cebu City Police Office’s detention cell.
The girl, holding back her tears, said she had persuaded her mother to quit her job in the drug den. She is uncertain whether she can go to college in June.
“Eskwela, oy (You should go to school),” Domin told her. “Moundang na man ta ko ani, saon naabtan man ko sa mga polis (I had decided to quit this job, but the police caught me first).”
Aside from Domin, the CIB also caught other women: Josefa Tabasa, 50; Beryl Loren Pane, 27; and Sally Mangolori, 41. Tabasa and Pane were allegedly caretakers, while Mangolori served as the den’s guard.
Jerry Ybañez, Roger Abellanosa, Julius Atillo, Velvic Tabasa, Christian Aguilos, Christian Bautista, and Aldwin Abejo were also arrested for allegedly sniffing drugs.
In Toledo
About four hours before the operation, in Poblacion, Toledo City, a separate police team arrested suspected drug pushers Salvador Diano, 45, and his live-in partner Janell Baculi, 25.
Their alleged customer Ramil Cabardo, 30, was also caught at 7:15 p.m.
Police confiscated 14 packs of what appeared to be shabu worth P40,000 from the suspects.
The arrested adults will be charged with violating Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
In a separate operation, a 20-year-old man was arrested in Barangay Suba-Basbas, Lapu-Lapu City.
Operatives from Marigondon Police Station conducted the buy-bust around 5:45 p.m. last Friday, seizing 10 sachets of methamphetamine hydrochloride—locally known as shabu—allegedly from Jimboy Catadman, a jobless resident of Sitio Mahayahay in that barangay.
Catadman was arrested after handing a sachet of illegal drugs to a police decoy and accepting marked money, said PO2 Michael Sean Copias.
Frisked
During a body search, police officers recovered nine more sachets from Catadman, said Copias.
Also recovered were two P100 bills used as marked money.
A sachet of shabu is commonly sold at P200.
The operation, led by SPO3 Nonilon Estonilo Jr. under the supervision of Senior Insp. Juan Capacio, chief of the Marigondon Police Station, had been coordinated with the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency 7.
Catadman was detained in the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LLCPO) holding cell. He will be charged with violating Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
The complaint will be filed before the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office tomorrow.
Mayor Paz Radaza earlier instructed Supt. Armando Radoc, LLCPO chief, to step up the police campaign against illegal drugs. She expressed worry over the rampant illegal drugs trade, saying it might hurt the city’s image as a destination for tourists.