Two friends arrested in PHP1.36-M drug bust

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Two friends from Tigbauan, Iloilo, were arrested in an anti-narcotics operation late morning on Sept. 24 in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

Police identified the suspects only as alias Jeryl, 45, and alias Ariel, 45, both residents of Barangay 8, Tigbauan.

Members of the Iloilo City Police Office – City Drug Enforcement Unit (ICPO-CDEU) apprehended the duo after they sold a sachet of suspected shabu for PHP8,000 in Barangay Q. Abeto, Mandurriao, near their boarding house.

During the frisk, authorities recovered two knot-tied plastic packs and 12 sachets of suspected shabu, along with several non-drug items.

Captain Ryan Christ Inot, ICPO-CDEU team leader, said the seized drugs weighed around 200 grams, with a street value of PHP1.36 million.

While Jeryl has no previous drug-related arrests, Ariel had been imprisoned after a 2016 drug bust. He was released in 2019.

Ariel’s brother is a barangay captain.

Inot stated that the suspects temporarily moved to Iloilo City after learning they were the subjects of a police operation in Tigbauan.

They allegedly sourced their drug supply from Metro Manila, which was transported via RoRo through Caticlan and dropped off in Tigbauan.

The two suspects are currently detained and face charges for violating Republic Act 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.