Teen falls in P136K ‘shabu’ sting

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A teenage boy was arrested in a police anti-narcotics operation late evening of Nov 30, 2021 in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

Jiggs Pedrajas alias Buang, 18, a resident of Barangay Desamparados, Jaro, Iloilo City was nabbed at the nearby village of Bakhaw, Mandurriao around 11:40 p.m. Tuesday.

Members of the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit 6 (RPDEU-6), together with operatives of the Iloilo City Police Station 5, the Regional Highway Patrol Unit 6 (RHPU-6) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 6 (CIDG-6)’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Team, collared Pedrajas after a two-week surveillance.

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Anthony Darroca, RPDEU-6 chief, said they received information from a tipster that Pedrajas was selling illegal drugs.

Pedrajas allegedly sold a sachet of suspected shabu to an undercover cop for P8,200.

When frisked, the suspect yielded nine sachets of suspected shabu, the P8,200 buy bust money, and a mobile phone.

The illegal drugs seized from Pedrajas was around 20 grams with an estimated value of P136,000.

Darroca said the suspect was able to dispose part of the supply entrusted to him before his arrest.

“At his age, he was already allocated up to 50 grams to dispose to clients,” he said.

That volume could have street value of around P800,000.

It was apparently not hard for Pedrajas to establish connection as he is related by blood to alleged drug pushers in Bakhaw village.

His aunt was also arrested for the same offense.

When asked how long he has been in the illegal drug trade, the suspect claimed that he started some three months ago.

He claimed it was his source of income, apart from helping his father who works as a butcher.

Pedrajas is now detained and will be charged for violation of Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).