Sex worker caught in drug operation

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A 35-year-old commercial sex worker, known as Alias Rose from Barangay Rizal in the Lapuz district, was arrested the evening of April 22 during an anti-narcotics sting at City Proper, Iloilo City.

Law enforcement had been tracking her suspected involvement in the illegal drug trade for several months.

In a coordinated effort, officers from the Iloilo City Police Station 1, Iloilo City Police Office – City Drug Enforcement Unit (ICPO-CDEU), and the PNP Drug Enforcement Group, apprehended Rose as she sold a sachet of suspected shabu worth P12,000 during a buy-bust operation on Muelle Loney St., Barangay Legaspi, City Proper.

Upon searching, officers found Rose in possession of 18 additional sachets of suspected shabu and various non-drug items. Captain Roque Gimeno III, chief of ICPS1, confirmed the confiscated shabu totaled approximately 92 grams, with a street value of P625,600.

Previously unrecorded for drug-related offenses and not listed by the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC) as a drug personality, Rose’s connection to the drug trade seems linked to her live-in partner, alias Tisoy, who was arrested in a similar buy-bust operation two months earlier.

It is believed that she took over Tisoy’s drug-dealing activities, distributing within the Waterfront area and to fellow sex workers and their clients.

Rose is currently detained and faces charges under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (Republic Act 9165).