Ex-convict arrested again in PHP 1.4M drug sting in Molo

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A convicted drug pusher was back behind bars barely two months after his release, arrested in a buy-bust operation late Monday, March 31, in Barangay Taal, Molo, Iloilo City.

Alias Roderick, 40, of Zone 6, Barangay Boulevard, Molo, had been released from prison on Jan. 26, 2026, after serving time for a previous drug offense. He was first arrested in a buy-bust operation on Feb. 16, 2022.

Members of the Iloilo City Police Office-City Drug Enforcement Unit apprehended Roderick after he allegedly sold a sachet of suspected shabu for PHP 12,000. Operatives also seized 12 additional sachets and three knot-tied plastic packs of the drug.

Capt. Roque Gimeno III, CDEU chief, said the seized shabu weighed around 210 grams, with a standard drug price of PHP 1,428,000.

Gimeno said Roderick had used his time in prison to build connections and resumed drug dealing almost immediately after his release. His supplier was identified as a certain Sherwin, an inmate also facing illegal drug charges.

Roderick is detained and will face charges for violation of Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.