Spouses Erick and Jorel Lauron are presented to the media by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) after they were arrested at dawn on Friday, May 19, 2017, in Espolarium St., Barangay Duljo Fatima, Cebu City in a buy-bust operation that yielded drugs worth over P500,000.
A total of 1.2 million worth of shabu was siezed by operatives of Phillipine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA 7) and the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit (RDEU 7) in separate buy bust operations in Barangays Duljo Fatima and Tejero in Cebu City on Friday.
PDEA 7 agents arrested Eric Lauron, 44, and his wife Jorel, 38, at 5:30 in a.m. of Friday in Spolarium St., Barangay Duljo Fatima with about 179 grams of shabu valued at P561,000, according to PDEA 7 information officer Lea Albiar.
The couple has been in the PDEA drug watch list and was being monitored by agents for over two weeks prior to the drug bust, said Albiar.
The Laurons, when presented to reporters, denied they were drug dealers.
Hours later, at around noon on Friday, it was the turn of the police belonging to RDEU 7 to raid a house in Sitio Silangan 2, Barangay Tejero and arrested Joefel Arcenal, 40, with P560,000 worth of shabu.
RDEU 7 chief Supt.Jason Villamater said Arcenal, a former checker of a cargo vessel, was placed under surveillance for two weeks prior to his arrest.
Arcenal was considered to be one of the new big-time drug dealers in Cebu whose operation covered Barangays San Roque, Tinago and Sitio Villa Gonzalo 2 in Barangay Tejero, all in Cebu City, according to Senior Insp. Ian Macatangay of the Cebu City Police Office.
Tejero Barangay Captain Jessielou Cadungog, in an interview, said they have been alerted by the PDEA and the police about Arcenal’s operation in the barangay and had been working closely with law enforcers to get him arrested.
Cadungog said Arcenal was listed in the Barangay Anti-drug Abuse Council as a top drug dealer in the barangay.