Ex-con falls in P510K drug sting

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A convicted drug pusher was arrested anew in a police anti-narcotics operation evening of April 19 in Molo, Iloilo City

Joel Maligaya, 48, of Barangay Calubihan, Jaro district, was nabbed in a roadside drug bust at Barangay San Pedro, Molo.

Members of the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit (RPDEU) 6 and the Iloilo City Police Station 4 collared Maligaya after he allegedly sold a sachet of suspected shabu for P32,000.

When he was subsequently frisked, the suspect yielded 15 more sachets of suspected shabu.

Major Rommel Anicete, RPDEU-6 chief, said the seized drugs weighed around 75 grams and were valued at P510,000.

Anicete said RPDEU-6 operatives conducted a month-long surveillance operation before they nailed Maligaya.

The suspect’s arrest came almost seven years after he was collared for the same offense.

Members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrested Maligaya and two others in a buy-bust operation in Mandurriao, Iloilo City in August 2016.

But the suspect was released in 2019 after availing of the government’s plea bargaining agreement.

Maligaya is now detained at the lock-up cell of ICPS4 pending the filing of charges for violation of Republic Act 9166 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).