Bacolod drug bust nets PHP 14.2M shabu

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — The Bacolod City Police Office seized PHP 14.2 million worth of suspected shabu from two men in a buy-bust operation in Barangay 3 here on Saturday.

Arrested were alias John, 29, a painter and resident of Barangay 3, and his alleged cohort, alias Mark, 34, a construction worker from Barangay Cabug.

Police Maj. Eugene Tolentino, head of Police Station 2, said they monitored John for two weeks before the operation.

Tolentino said John is considered one of the alleged major suppliers of illegal drugs in Bacolod City and neighboring areas in Negros Occidental.

Tolentino identified John as a high-value individual and Mark as a street-level individual.

Police said the suspects yielded 2,100 grams of suspected shabu.

Both suspects allegedly sold PHP 120,000 worth of suspected shabu to a police agent during the buy-bust operation.

Tolentino said police are verifying information that John had a previous arrest warrant for another offense.

The operation followed the seizure of PHP 28.5 million worth of suspected shabu by the City Drug Enforcement Unit from a 35-year-old woman in Barangay 31 here on May 19.

Tolentino said the two operations were not linked because the suspects did not know each other.

He added that police are investigating the source of the contraband, which they believe could have come from Luzon or Cebu.

Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region said it also confiscated PHP 1,383,120 worth of suspected shabu in separate buy-bust operations in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental on Saturday.

In Negros Occidental, a 47-year-old high-value individual was arrested after he allegedly yielded 110 grams of suspected shabu worth PHP 748,000 in a buy-bust operation in Sitio Ubay, Barangay Pilar, Hinigaran.

Police identified the suspect as alias Torag, who is listed as the No. 3 high-value individual at the provincial level.

Police said the operation stemmed from a tip received by the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit, which indicated that the suspect was allegedly conducting illegal drug activities in Pontevedra, Hinigaran, Isabela, Binalbagan and parts of Himamaylan City.

Police said the suspect had been the subject of several buy-bust operations by other units but had evaded arrest.

In Calatrava, a 30-year-old unemployed man was arrested after he allegedly yielded 40 grams of suspected shabu worth PHP 272,000 in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Patun-an on Friday.

The suspect was identified as alias Ar, whom police classified as a street-level individual.

In Negros Oriental, alias Mark, 36, a government employee tagged as a high-value target, was arrested after police recovered 54.4 grams of suspected shabu worth PHP 363,120 in a buy-bust operation in Purok 3, Barangay Balugo, Valencia.

PRO-NIR said the recent operations underscored its resolve to dismantle illegal drug networks and pursue individuals engaged in the illicit drug trade regardless of status or influence.

The regional police office also recognized the continuing collaboration between law enforcement units and communities in addressing the destructive effects of illegal drugs.