By Jennifer P. Rendon
His lifestyle gave him away.
A teenager who earlier claimed to be a minor was arrested in a police anti-narcotics operation in San Enrique, Iloilo.
John French Balboa, who turned out to be 18 years old already, was arrested around 9:20 pm of January 4, 2021 at Barangay Abaca, where he also resides.
Balboa claimed that he was born February 9, 2003 but when his guardian produced his birth certificate, it was learned that he was born a year earlier.
Members of the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit (RPDEU) Team 3, Iloilo Police Provincial Office-Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (IPPO-PDEU) Team 2, and San Enrique Police Station arrested Balboa after allegedly selling a sachet of suspected shabu or crystal meth for P20,500.
When later frisked, the suspect yielded plastic wrappers containing suspected shabu, two crumpled paper wrapped in scotch tape, several identification cards, mobile phone, a small pouch, and a Euro 125 motorcycle.
Colonel Gilbert Gorero, Iloilo police chief, said the recovered illegal drugs weighed around 70 grams and valued at around P455,000. Police received reports of Balboa’s alleged illegal activities after several neighbors were puzzled how a jobless teenager could go on shopping sprees.
Gorero said Balboa had been under the care of his guardian, as his father is now detained at the New Bilibid Prison for a drug-related offense. His mother has left San Enrique town.
Police claimed that Balboa may have contacts in the narcotics trade through his detained father.
He is now behind bars at San Enrique Police Station and will be charged for violation of Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).
