Senior Supt. Rommel Cabagnot, acting director of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office, presents to the media suspected drug dealers (from left to right) Johnrey Sinadjan, 35, Ben Mark Valdez, 30, and Marvy Palay, 38, all of Barangay Pusok, who were caught with P11 million worth of shabu. (CDN PHOTO/NORMAN V. MENDOZA)
Latest hauls: P12 million
Police scored big in the campaign against illegal drugs after they seized about P12 million worth of shabu (methamphetamine) in separate operations in Lapu-Lapu City between Friday and Saturday.
The P11-million worth of shabu seized in Barangay Pusok on Friday night was so far the biggest drug haul in Central Visayas since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed his post last June 30 and launched an extensive campaign against illegal drugs.
Barely 24 hours later, police again seized about P1-million worth of shabu in a buy-bust operation in Sitio Seabreeze, Barangay Mactan, at 6:30 p.m. yesterday, which also resulted in the arrest of Brenda Liza Bahio, the alleged pusher.
The amount of shabu seized in Cebu in just a month is now estimated to be at least P25 million, including the P6-million worth of the illegal drug intercepted at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) on July 20 and the P7.5 million seized in separate operations in Cebu City last Wednesday and Thursday.
Arrested along with Bahio were her neighbors and alleged cohorts, Aldrin Potot, Dan Joel Las Marias and John Michael Vincent Tantoco. All four were not in the list of suspected drug dealers in the area until the police were alerted of their activities by an informant, according to Chief Insp. Mark Gifter Sucalit, chief of Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office.
Until their arrest last Friday, drug trader Marvy Palay and his cohorts Johnrey Sinadjan and Ben Mark Valez also went under the radar of the police.
Senior Supt. Rommel Cabagnot, acting director of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office, said they did not know that Palay was a big-time drug dealer until police found his stash of about a kilo of shabu last Friday.
Charges for violating Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, particularly for possession of illegal drugs, will be filed against the three suspects before the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutors’ Office on Monday.
Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas, believed the seizure of shabu from Palay would affect the illegal drug operations in the region.
“The successful operation in Lapu-Lapu City is another big blow to the illegal drug trade in the region. Again, drug pushers in the region must stop already and surrender because we will not stop pursuing them until they are neutralized,” he said in a text message to Cebu Daily News yesterday.
Palay, 38, and a native of Isabel in Leyte, was arrested by police inside his residence in Sitio Matumbo, Barangay Pusok, after selling a medium pack of shabu to a poseur buyer.
Two other men — Sinadjan, 35, and Valdez, 30—were also arrested inside Palay’s residence since each of them were caught with a small sachet of shabu, glass tooter and disposable lighter.
Police also found a big pack of suspected shabu weighing one kilo worth about P11 million based on the Dangerous Drugs Board value, and a .38 revolver with five live ammunitions.
Chief Insp. Wayne Magbanua, the team leader of the operation, said one of those who surrendered in the Oplan Tokhang informed the police regarding Palay’s involvement in illegal drugs trade. They verified the information and confirmed that Palay was indeed selling shabu. Palay, he said, wasn’t on their drugs watch list.
Charges for selling illegal drugs will be filed against Palay. The offense is non-bailable. Palay will also face charges for illegal possession of firearms and ammunitions.
Big catch
Cabagnot was elated that they were able to arrest Palay and seized about a kilo of drugs from him.
“This is so far the biggest catch we have had for many years and since President Duterte assumed his post,” he said.
Cabagnot said they did not expect to seize such amount of shabu.
“I was surprised. I thought the supply of shabu has already decreased after the nationwide campaign against illegal drugs and the number of surrenderers in the Oplan Tokhang,” he said.
“Even if the supply of shabu has decreased, we shall continue in our intensified operations against illegal drugs,” he said.
Cabagnot said police knew Palay as a street-level pusher. They didn’t realize that he was selling large amounts of shabu.
“He was very discreet in his operations,” he said.
When police conducted the Oplan Tokhang, Cabagnot said Palay was not home.
His friends told him to surrender to the police, but Palay never showed up to the police station.
Last week, after police received an information that Palay was selling shabu, they immediately conducted a surveillance.
Upon knowing that Palay was spotted at Sitio Seaside Friday evening, Magbanua hatched a buy-bust operation in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. At around 10 p.m., police successfully arrested Palay and his two alleged cohorts.
Upon questioning, Palay revealed that the kilo of shabu was left to him by a “friend” from Barangay Duljo Fatima, Cebu City, last May.
Palay was allegedly told to dispose the shabu and that he would just collect the proceeds later. His still unnamed friend allegedly did not come back.
Sinadjan and Valdez admitted they were drug users but did not know that Palay had a kilo of shabu.
Previous seizures
Last July 20, a Chinese woman was also arrested by the Customs police at MCIA after she was caught bringing in shabu, which the PDEA estimated to be worth P6 million.
Last Thursday, police also arrested two suspected drug pushers during simultaneous buy-bust operations in Barangays Guadalupe and Kalunasan, Cebu City. Seized from Richard Paguidopon and Junryl Bulat-og were 650 grams of shabu worth P7.1 million and cash amounting to P31,750.
The two suspects are facing charges for violating Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, particularly on selling illegal drugs.
Paguidopon and Bulat-og were on the drugs watch list of the Guadalupe Police Station, but Gesto said the two suspects refused to surrender during the implementation of the Oplan Tokhang.
On Wednesday, police also arrested two persons in the boundary road of A. Lopez in Barangay Calamba and Barangay Labangon. Shabu worth P416,000 was seized from Raymund Bingil and Vicente Maning.
‘Tuloy tuloy’
Taliño on Friday announced that PRO-7 is preparing for another round of Oplan Tokhang to give drug users and pushers a chance to change their lives.
“Tuloy-tuloy tayo sa ating kampanya against sa illegal drugs. Kasi nga binigyan lang tayo ng 3 to 6 months to eliminate illegal drugs (Our campaign against illegal drugs continues. We’re given by President Rodrigo Duterte three to six months to eliminate illegal drugs),” he said.
This time, Taliño said the targets will be drug users and pushers who live in subdivisions and condominiums.
“No one is spared in our campaign against illegal drugs. Whether you’re rich, a celebrity, a policeman or a politician, as long as you are into drugs, you will be a target,” he said.
Senior Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, head of the Overisght Committee on Illegal Drugs, said they will also continue to evaluate the performances of police station chiefs on their efforts to stop illegal drug operations in their respective areas.
“We cannot allow just one policeman to sit down and watch what’s happening. Everybody should be involved in this campaign,” he said.
Lawas said they planned to convene owners of disco houses in Metro Cebu to help them fight illegal drugs.
“Based on reports, exhange of drugs and money happen in disco houses. I’m not saying this is true, but we just want to explore,” he said.