Kagawad, two others in Jaro shabu sting flunk illegal drug use test

By Jennifer P. Rendon

All three individuals apprehended during a police anti-narcotics operation on March 5 in Jaro, Iloilo City, including a village official, have tested positive for illegal drug use.

This development contrasts Barangay Kagawad Joseph Jaleco, Jr.’s denial of involvement with illegal narcotics.

Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Benitez, Jr., chief of the Iloilo City Police Office – City Drug Enforcement Unit (ICPO-CDEU), revealed that the tests for Jaleco’s associates, Clint Hautea, 34, from Barangay Democracia, and Jerry Ferrer, 35, from Barangay Desamparados, both in Jaro, came back positive as well.

Benitez emphasized that Jaleco, age 50 from El-98, Jaro, cannot claim ignorance, as he was already under surveillance as part of the police’s list of suspected drug personalities.

The arrest of the trio took place after they were allegedly caught selling a sachet of what is believed to be shabu for 12,000 pesos in Barangay Desamparados, Jaro.

The operation, conducted by the CDEU with the support of personnel from the Iloilo City Police Stations 3 and 4 and the Maritime Police Station, also uncovered an additional 11 sachets of suspected shabu, an improvised inhalation device, a brown envelope, and various other non-drug-related items.

The confiscated shabu has an estimated weight of 20 grams and a street value of 136,000 pesos.

Following a three-week surveillance operation primarily focused on Hautea, the suspects were detained.

They have since been charged with violating Section 26 in relation to Section 5, Article II of the Republic Act 9165, also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.