CDEU seizes PHP 884,000 shabu in Bacolod bust

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — A 23-year-old man was arrested after police seized 130 grams of suspected shabu valued at PHP 884,000 in a buy-bust operation in Purok Paraiso, Barangay Banago, on Thursday.

Operatives of the City Drug Enforcement Unit arrested the suspect, identified only as alias “Janjan,” whom police described as a high-value individual.

Police Lt. Richard Legada, CDEU officer in charge, said the suspect’s parents and two sisters had previously been arrested for the same offense and were later released.

“It’s like a family business,” he added.

Legada said the suspect has allegedly been involved in illegal drug activity for some time.

Legada said police recently received information that the suspect had resumed transactions, prompting operatives to conduct casing and surveillance for two weeks before the buy-bust operation.

The suspect is detained at Police Station 3 pending the filing of drug charges.

Legada said they do not know how the suspect’s relatives were released, but he said they may have availed themselves of a plea-bargaining agreement.

Under Philippine law, police and prosecutors typically file charges under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, and seized suspected drugs are subject to inventory, documentation, and laboratory testing as part of evidence-handling requirements.