Ambulance driver, 5 others nabbed with PHP4.7-M shabu

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — Police seized PHP4.76 million worth of suspected shabu from six people, including an ambulance driver and a regular government employee, in a series of buy-bust operations here on August 10 and 11.

The City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) recorded the biggest haul, confiscating 520 grams of suspected shabu valued at PHP3.536 million from two men in Barangay Handumanan on Sunday night.

Police Lt. Richard Legada, assistant CDEU chief, identified the suspects only as “Geng,” 29, of Barangay Handumanan, a high-value individual, and “Rae,” 30, of Barangay Estefania, a street-level individual.

Another operation past midnight Monday led to the arrest of a jeepney driver and a fish vendor in Barangay Mansilingan.

Legada said the suspects — “Tata,” 38, of Barangay Handumanan, and “Beboy,” 40, of Barangay 22 — allegedly yielded 100 grams of suspected shabu worth PHP680,000.

Both are on the barangay drug watchlist. Tata, a high-value target, was arrested for drug possession in May 2022 and released in July that year through a surety bond. Beboy, a street-level target, was arrested for drug possession and paraphernalia in Barangay Banago in 2021 and released in December 2023 via plea bargaining.

Police Station 8 operatives also apprehended an ambulance driver and a former call center agent in Barangay Singcang-Airport on Sunday night, recovering 80 grams of suspected shabu worth PHP544,000.

Police Capt. Greeky Cayao, station chief, identified them only as “Evon,” 27, and “Riche,” 50, both residents of Cadiz City, Negros Occidental. Authorities said the two conspired to sell the contraband to a poseur buyer.

Evon, the operation’s target, was previously arrested for a drug offense and released last year after serving her sentence. Riche, a regular government employee in Cadiz City, has been assigned as an ambulance driver for about a decade.

Cayao said they coordinated with Cadiz police to check Riche’s background. The buy-bust operation stemmed from reports of drug distribution in the jurisdiction of Police Station 8, where Evon’s name surfaced during monitoring.

Police Col. Joeresty Coronica, Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) director, praised the operatives and assured the public of their commitment to curb the city’s illegal drug activities.

Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said Riche would be suspended while the investigation is ongoing.

Police Brig. Gen. Arnold Thomas Ibay, Police Regional Office–Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) director, also commended BCPO’s accomplishments in the region’s anti-illegal drug campaign.