Duo falls in P1.156-M drug sting

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A man and his lady cohort were arrested at Jaro, Iloilo City after they allegedly connived in promoting their drug trade activity.

Gian Paolo Riosa, 39, a resident of Poblacion, Banate, Iloilo and Sachicko Nakata, 33, of Barangay Calumpang Molo, Iloilo City were arrested evening of July 12, 2022 at Commission Civil St.  Barangay Benidicto, Jaro.

Members of the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit 6 (RPDEU-6) and the Iloilo City Police Station 3 carried out the operation against Riosa four months after he was placed under surveillance.

Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Benitez, Jr., RPDEU-6 chief, said Riosa was with Nakata when he allegedly sold a sachet of suspected shabu to an undercover operative for P20,000.

Recovered from the suspects were 22 medium and two big sachets of suspected shabu, the P20,000 marked money, two mobile phones, a digital weighing scale, a bundle of empty plastic sachets, a vault box in the guise of a dictionary, cash of P1,440, and several non-drug items.

Benitez said Riosa and Nakata were each seized with a small notebook where they listed the names and records of their illegal drug transactions.

Around 170 grams of shabu were seized from the duo.

Benitez said it has an estimated standard drug price of P1,156,000.

It appeared that Riosa was the police operatives’ main target after drug peddlers who were arrested several months back pointed to him as their source.

He was considered as a high-value individual (HVI) drug personality because of his arrest for the same offense in 2016.

Benitez said they are still checking on Riosa’s records.

The RPDEU-6 chief has temporarily declined to reveal Riosa’s source pending validation.

“We’re doing a follow-up operation on the revelations he made,” Benitez said.

Riosa and Nakata are now detained at the lock-up cell of Jaro Police Station pending the filing of charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).