Iloilo City drug busts yield PHP1.4 million in shabu

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Three anti-drug operations conducted within 14 hours in Iloilo City led to the arrest of three drug suspects and the seizure of PHP1.4 million worth of suspected shabu.

The Iloilo City Police Station 10 (ICPS10) launched the series of operations with the arrest of a suspect identified as Ed in Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao district.

ICPS10 personnel, together with the Revitalized Police Sa Barangay (RPSB) Team Bakhaw, apprehended Ed in a buy-bust operation around 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 27.

Ed, classified as a high-value individual (HVI), yielded approximately 100 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated street value of PHP680,000.

At around 5:15 p.m. on the same day, operatives of the Iloilo City Police Office City Drug Enforcement Unit (ICPO-CDEU), in coordination with ICPS6, arrested another suspect, alias Aljean.

The 35-year-old resident of Barangay Calaparan, Arevalo, was found in possession of about 30 grams of suspected shabu worth PHP204,000.

Meanwhile, Iloilo City Police Station 2 (ICPS2) personnel nabbed a third suspect, alias Toto Aching, 32, of Barangay Caingin, La Paz, in a separate drug sting around 12:15 a.m. on Aug. 28.

Seized from him were roughly 75 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated value of PHP510,000.

All three suspects are now in police custody and will face charges for violating Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.