P1.2 M worth of shabu seized in motel drug bust

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By Jennifer P. Rendon

A police anti-illegal drug operation in a motel in Molo, Iloilo yielded more than P1.2 million worth of suspected shabu.

John Alvin Palomar, 44, of Zone 2, Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao, Iloilo City, was arrested at 9:05 p.m. on June 15 while billeted at Sofia Lodge in Barangay Infante, Molo.

Members of the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit (RPDEU) 6, together with the Iloilo City Police Office-City Drug Enforcement Unit (ICPO-CDEU) and Iloilo City Police Station 4 arrested the suspect after selling a sachet of suspected shabu for P10,000.

When police swooped on his occupied room, they recovered 41 more sachets of suspected shabu, an Android phone, a wallet, a motorcycle, a pouch, cash of P1,000, and several non-drug items.

Captain Glenn Soliman, RPDEU-6 team leader, said the seized shabu weighed around 180 grams and was valued at P1224,000.

Soliman said it took operatives two days before they can convince Palomar to sell drugs to them.

Initially, the suspect agreed to complete the trade at his house in Bakhaw, Mandurriao.

Soliman cited that Palomar resides just across the drug den where the 32 drug suspects were arrested on Jan. 25, 2022.

“We presumed that his house is also being used as a drug den,” he said.

But by mid-afternoon of Wednesday, Palomar’s trusted person claimed they stopped selling for the day but allowed a P1,000 purchase for immediate use.

Another asset was then used until the suspect agreed to the trade inside a motel.

Soliman said Palomar was arrested in 2016 for a drug-related offense.

He was released in 2020 after availing of a plea bargaining agreement.

Palomar is again back in jail and will be charged for Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).