Notorious ‘drug pusher’, cohort nabbed in P1.8M sting

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A notorious alleged drug pusher and her cohort were arrested in a police anti-illegal drugs operation on the afternoon of July 19 in Molo, Iloilo City.

Known as “Queen of the North,” 37-year-old Amanda Arcega, who also goes by the names Marie Savana Ha and Madam, a resident of Barangay Poblacion, Zone 1, Estancia, Iloilo, was arrested along with Jaizan Amarga, 37, of Purok 4, Barangay Bulaqueña, Estancia.

Members of the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit (RPDEU) 6, together with Iloilo City Police Station 4, apprehended the suspects allegedly selling a knot-tied plastic bag of shabu for P40,000 in a buy-bust operation at Zone 1, Barangay Calumpang, Molo.

When frisked, the suspects were found with two more knot-tied transparent plastic bags of suspected shabu.

Also recovered were a backpack and a shoulder bag with two mobile phones, three identification cards, a weighing scale, and a blue wallet.

Police also took custody of their Yamaha 125 Mip motorcycle and other non-drug items. The seized drugs weighed around 275 grams with a standard drug price of P1,870,000.

Captain Ryan Christ Inot, Molo police chief, said the suspects were caught following a one-week surveillance operation.

The suspects possessed a large volume of illegal drugs, as their supply had just arrived a day before their arrest.

They allegedly sourced the illegal drugs through a transaction at the New Bilibid Prison. The supply was then dropped off in Juntado Subdivision in the Molo district.

Arcega allegedly established her connections at the NBP through her live-in partner, who is now incarcerated at the national penitentiary. It is believed that the suspects also supplied shabu to several parts of Iloilo province’s fifth district.

Meanwhile, Amarga denied any involvement in the illegal drug trade. He admitted, though, that he uses drugs and claimed that Arcega just asked him to drive the motorcycle to pick up something in Iloilo City.

Arcega also denied involvement in illegal drug peddling.

The two suspects are now detained and will be charged with violating Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).