Couple, drug group member yield P1.8-M ‘shabu’

By Glazyl Masculino

BACOLOD CITY — Three persons, including a couple, were busted with a total of P1,802,000 worth of suspected shabu in separate drug bust operations here and in Negros Occidental on June 4 and 5.

Police seized a large volume of illegal drugs from an alleged member of a drug group in Barangay Vista Alegre here on Wednesday night.

Police Captain Joven Mogato, head of the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU), said a 61-year-old man allegedly yielded 160 grams of suspected shabu worth P1,088,000, identifying him as a high-value individual.

Mogato said the suspect was an alleged former member of a drug group who was placed under monitoring, along with other members of the group.

Aside from intelligence monitoring, Mogato said they also received reports about the suspect’s alleged illegal activity, prompting them to conduct surveillance.

Also recovered from the suspect were P11,000 in marked money and P250.

Mogato said the suspect was arrested for illegal gambling in 2019 and was released from jail in 2022.

Meanwhile, a couple, listed as high-value individuals at the regional level, was also apprehended in Barangay III (Poblacion), La Carlota City, last Tuesday.

Operatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Drug Enforcement Group Special Operation Unit (PDEG-SOU)-6 apprehended a 27-year-old man and his 24-year-old live-in partner, both residents of Bacolod City.

Authorities confiscated from them 105 grams of suspected shabu worth P714,000.

According to a PDEG operative, the woman is the top target of the police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Western Visayas.

The PDEG operative said the man was previously arrested for a drug offense but was later released from jail due to a plea bargaining agreement.

Drug charges are being prepared against the three suspects.