PDEA agents arrest former wife of slain bigtime drug suspect Tongol and her new husband

Janice Nodalo, widow of suspected drug lord Joel “Tongol” Nodaloand, and her live-in partner were arrested by PDEA 7 in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Buaya, Lapu-Lapu City on Friday night. PDEA 7 seized P6M worth of drugs from the couple. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

CEBU CITY—The widow of a slain drug lord and her new husband were arrested after P6 million worth of shabu and a high-powered firearm were seized from them in a buy-bust operation inside their house in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu on Friday night.

Janice Godinez and husband, Manuel, were locked up at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) detention cell in Cebu City pending filing of charges.

Janice was the wife of Joel “Tongol” Nodalo, a bigtime drug lord who was killed by a lone gunman inside a cockpit in Buenavista town, Bohol on June 23, 2005. She has since remarried.

Yogi Felimon Ruiz, PDEA-Central Visayas director, said an undercover agent bought P300,000 worth of shabu inside their residence in Barangay Buaya, Lapu-Lapu past 9 p.m.

When the transaction was consummated, the other PDEA agents pounced on the couple.

Seized from the couple were at least P6 million worth of shabu, a KG9 submachine gun, three handheld radios with Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LLCPO) frequency and a Palawan pawnshop cash transfer receipt .

Ruiz said he would discuss with Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, police director for Central Visayas, about the handheld radios and how the couple was able to access the police frequency that enabled them to know the police operations.

“Where did they get the frequency? I want to inform Gen. Taliño that there is someone (in the police force) that might have given the frequency to the syndicate,” he added.