Tricycle driver nabbed in Estancia cemetery drug bust

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By Jennifer P. Rendon

A tricycle driver was arrested during an anti-illegal drug operation early Tuesday morning, Aug. 26, at a public cemetery in Estancia, Iloilo.

The suspect, identified as alias Nognog, 27, of Clement Street, Poblacion Zone 2, Estancia, was apprehended in a buy-bust operation at the Estancia Public Cemetery in Barangay Tacbuyan around 5:47 a.m.

Members of the Estancia Municipal Police Station, along with personnel from the 2nd Iloilo Provincial Mobile Force Company, arrested the suspect after he sold a sachet of suspected shabu for PHP4,100.

Authorities recovered three additional sachets of suspected shabu and several non-drug items during the frisk.

Major John Salvador Bello, Estancia police chief, said the confiscated drugs weighed approximately 74.26 grams, with a standard drug price of PHP504,968.

Bello said the suspect’s arrest followed two months of surveillance.

Alias Nognog allegedly sourced his drug supply from Roxas City and distributed it in Estancia.

The suspect is currently in police custody and will face charges for violating Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Meanwhile, police also arrested an alleged high-value individual in a dawn anti-drug operation in Calinog, Iloilo, seizing an estimated PHP1.08 million worth of shabu.

Authorities identified the suspect only by his alias “Braks,” who was arrested at around 2:33 a.m. on Aug. 27 in Barangay Poblacion Ilaya during the implementation of a search warrant.

The warrant was issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 76 in Janiuay, Iloilo, for violations of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Police recovered approximately 160 grams of suspected shabu, with a standard drug price pegged at PHP1,088,000.

Confiscated items included two knot-tied and three heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets of suspected shabu, a digital weighing scale, and a black pouch.