Pregnant woman arrested in Jaro drug sting

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A pregnant woman on probation for an illegal drug-related offense was arrested in a police anti-narcotics operation around midnight Thursday, June 11, in Jaro, Iloilo City.

Police identified the suspect only as alias Sara, 40, of Barangay Simon Ledesma, Jaro.

Her live-in partner, identified only as alias GongGong, was also a target of the buy-bust operation but evaded arrest.

Police said GongGong escaped through the back door of their house and jumped into the river.

Members of the Iloilo City Police Office’s City Drug Enforcement Unit, together with personnel from the ICPO SWAT Team, Iloilo City Police Station 9 and Iloilo Maritime Police Station, arrested Sara after she allegedly sold a sachet of suspected shabu for PHP 6,000.

Police said they recovered eight more sachets of suspected shabu from her.

Capt. Roque Gimeno III, ICPO-CDEU chief, said the seized shabu weighed around 70 grams and had a standard drug price of PHP 476,000.

Reports said Gimeno’s team had also arrested Sara and GongGong in November 2023.

The couple availed themselves of plea bargaining and were released in September 2025.

Shortly after their release, police said the two were monitored to have allegedly returned to the illegal drug trade.

They were placed under surveillance for three weeks before the operation was launched.

The couple will face charges for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

RA 9165 penalizes the sale, possession and distribution of dangerous drugs, including shabu, one of the most commonly seized illegal drugs in police operations in Western Visayas.