Pals fall in Dumangas drug sting

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Two persons were arrested for alleged illegal drug peddling on Feb. 7, 2020, in Dumangas, Iloilo.

Marco Navarro, 39, and his friend, 22-year old Marlon Libo-on, both residents of Barangay Lacturan, Dumangas, Iloilo was arrested at the former’s home where the buy-bust operation took place.

Members of the Dumangas Police Station collared the two suspects after they handed a sachet of suspected shabu for P700.

The suspects later yielded two more sachets of shabu.

Police Major Joven Arevalo, Dumangas police chief, said both Navarro and Libo-on are newly-identified drug personalities. It was their first arrest for a criminal offense.

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

Hours before the duo’s arrest, another suspected drug peddler was also arrested in Barangay Devera, Sara, Iloilo.

Joint elements of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Iloilo Provincial Office, PNP Drug Enforcement Unit, and Sara Municipal Police Station arrested Arman Balayo, 22, also a resident of the said place.

The suspect allegedly a sachet of suspected shabu for P1,200 around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The suspect was yielded with four sachets of suspected shabu, a mobile phone, and P1,200 marked money.

He will also be charged for violation of RA 9165.