Carpenter nabbed in PHP 816K drug sting in Iloilo

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A carpenter was arrested during an anti-drug operation on the evening of Sept. 1 in Barangay Cuartero, Jaro, Iloilo City.

The suspect, identified only as alias Peter, 34, was caught in a buy-bust operation near his residence.

Members of the Iloilo City Police Office–City Drug Enforcement Unit (ICPO-CDEU), in coordination with the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group, ICPO Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Regional Intelligence Unit, and Police Station 9, carried out the operation.

Police said the suspect sold a sachet of suspected shabu for PHP 8,000 to an undercover officer.

Authorities recovered four additional sachets and three knot-tied plastic packs of suspected shabu, along with several non-drug items during the suspect’s arrest.

Captain Roque Gimeno, chief of the ICPO-CDEU, said the confiscated drugs weighed approximately 120 grams, with an estimated value of PHP 816,000.

Gimeno said the suspect had been under police surveillance for more than a year.

He was not immediately subjected to arrest as he had temporarily stopped his activities.

Police resumed monitoring Peter after two of his alleged downlines were apprehended weeks earlier.

Gimeno confirmed that Peter has no prior drug-related arrests.

Peter is now detained and will face charges for violating Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.