PHP 3.5-M BUST: From hard hat to handcuffs in drug sting

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A construction worker was arrested for allegedly selling illegal drugs in a police buy-bust operation in Iloilo City.

The suspect, identified only as alias Dodoy, 45, of Barangay San Antonio, Molo, was arrested on the evening of Jan. 22.

Members of the Iloilo City Police Office–City Drug Enforcement Unit (ICPO-CDEU), along with the Regional Intelligence Unit 6, ICPO Special Weapons and Tactics team, and Iloilo City Police Station 4, apprehended the suspect after he sold a sachet of suspected shabu for PHP 18,000.

Police later confiscated 10 additional sachets and four knot-tied plastic bags containing suspected shabu, along with several non-drug items.

Capt. Roque Gimeno III, ICPO-CDEU chief, said the recovered drugs weighed about 515 grams with a standard drug price of PHP 3,502,000.

Dodoy’s arrest followed persistent reports linking him to illegal drug peddling in the area.

While he has no prior drug-related arrest, two of his brothers are currently detained for illegal drug offenses.

Police said Dodoy allegedly sourced his supply through his incarcerated brothers and another detainee.

He is now in custody and will be charged with violating Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.