P3-M drug busts in Iloilo, Bacolod

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By Jennifer P. Rendon and Glazyl Y. Masculino

Around P3.080 million worth of suspected drugs were seized in two anti-narcotics operations in Iloilo and Bacolod City on Friday.

Three siblings and their young lady friend were arrested in an anti-illegal drug operation on September 1 in Lemery, Iloilo.

Shiela Mae Yu, 34, Jose Maria Yu, 26, Bryan Yu, 29, and Angel Kyth Alavaren, 21, all residents of Barangay Poblacion Zone 1, Estancia, Iloilo, were collared at their apartment in Poblacion Southeast, Lemery town.

Members of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office–Provincial Intelligence Unit (IPPO-PIU), IPPO Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit, 2nd Iloilo Provincial Mobile Force Company (IPMFC) and Carles and Lemery police stations carried out the operation after a one-month monitoring.

Major Albert Francis Fortunado, IPPO-PIU chief, said Sheila Mae, a regional target-listed drug personality, was the main target of the buy-bust operation.

She and the police poseur buyer agreed to the sale of three sachets of shabu for P21,000.

When police operatives frisked them, they yielded 28 more sachets of suspected shabu, two sling bags, a wallet, aluminum foil strips, and identification cards, and several non-drug items.

Fortunado said the seized drugs weighed around 200 grams and were valued at P1,360,000.

The three siblings work as fish brokers but the police believe they just used it as a front for their illegal drug trade.

Fortunado said that Alavaren‘s involvement stemmed from her father’s arrest for alleged illegal drug trading. He is now detained at the Iloilo District Jail in Barangay Nanga, Pototan, Iloilo.

According to reports, the Yu siblings sourced their supplies from multiple individuals based in Roxas City, Capiz, and Iloilo City.

Sheila Mae has been placed under police radar for almost two years.

She evaded arrest after only dealing with her suki or loyal customers.

They also constantly change their base by renting houses in Roxas City, Iloilo City, and some parts of northern Iloilo.

It was believed that the suspects had disposed of some part of their supply when police arrested them.

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

Meanwhile, a man tagged as a regional priority target-listed drug personality in Western Visayas was arrested in a buy-bust operation that yielded 253 grams of suspected shabu worth P1,720,400 at Purok Progreso Village II, Barangay Vista Alegre in Bacolod City yesterday.

Operatives of the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) arrested Justin Gayoso, 27, of the said village, a high value individual.

According to a report from Police Regional Office (PRO)-6, the suspect was arrested in 2017 for the same offense and was released through plea bargaining in 2020.

Police also recovered from him the P2,000 marked money, and P170.

In a statement, Brigadier General Sidney Villaflor, PRO-6 director, said that this accomplishment is a result of the strengthened campaign of PRO-6 on the war on illegal drugs by having intelligence-driven anti-illegal drug operations in the city, as well as the never-ending support of the community on the programs and campaigns of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Villaflor applauded the personnel of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) for the positive result of the operation against illegal drugs.

“We assure you that we will continue to strive to attain our mission of a safer and more progressive community,” he added.