AFTER gaining liberty a year ago, a 37-year-old man found himself locked in jail again after he was arrested in a drug buy-bust operation in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City.
Danilo Uralde allegedly sold a pack of shabu to a poseur-buyer when agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) arrested him in his home in Sitio Tangke 2 past 3 a.m. last Thursday.
Also arrested was 35-year-old Gerald Cañete, the alleged runner of Uralde, said PDEA-7 information officer Leia Albiar.
Seized from the two men were 10 packs believed to contain shabu with an estimated value of P160,000, said Albiar.
A three-week surveillance was made before the operation was conducted to arrest Uralde.
According to Albiar, Uralde was previously convicted for violation of Section 11 of the Republic Act 9165, also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Uralde was released from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City last June 2016.
Albiar said Uralde is a remnant of Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz, the Cebuano drug lord who was killed in an alleged shootout with police in Las Piñas City last year.
Uralde is the second drug personality with ties to Diaz who fell into the hands of authorities in a span of two weeks.
Last May 31, police arrested Arnulfo Abellana in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Duljo-Fatima, Cebu City.
Police had said Abellana was a cohort of Diaz but lay low when the latter was killed.
He surrendered to the police at the height of the government’s Oplan Tokhang campaign last year but eventually returned to his illegal drug activities, police said.
In another drug operations, 18 drug suspects were arrested in the different parts of Cebu province during the last three days.
Five of them were arrested in Minglanilla town, southern Cebu. They are James Canales, 28; Arnaldo Juezan III, 23; Nelson Mari Hortelano, 26; Marck Fracis Quijano, 27; and Joshua Encabo, 19, all residents of Barangay Pakigne.
Supt. Dexter Calacar said that around 8 p.m. on Thursday, the operatives of Minglanilla Police Station conducted a buy-bust operation against Encabo. Seized from the suspect were small sachets of suspected shabu and drug paraphernalia.
The other four suspects were caught inhaling shabu in an abandoned house, Calacar said.
All suspects are now detained at the Minglanilla Police Station.
Meanwhile, two suspected drug pushers were also arrested in Sitio Kawayan, Barangay Yati, Liloan town, northern Cebu yesterday. The two drug supects— Elmer Abucay and Raul Sugarol — are reportedly new players in the illegal drug trade in their area.
In Lapu-Lapu City, seven persons were arrested at a lodging house in Barangay Pajo past 12 midnight yesterday.
They are Junaid Badio, 33, of Sitio Langub, Barangay Poblacion; Eduardo Renegado, 39, of Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City and Alberto Gelig, 32, of Sitio Punta Rizal, Barangay Pajo.
Chief Insp. Mark Gifter Sucalit and Senior Insp. Joey Bicoy of the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) received an information from a concerned citizen regarding the illegal drug activity of the suspects, thus they conducted the buy-bust operation around 12:30 midnight yesterday.
Police seized from them sachets of suspected shabu worth P34,692 based on Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) value, P600 cash believed to be proceeds from selling drugs and P200 buy-bust money.
In another drug operation, one Alexander Pinto, a.k.a. “Titing Muslim,” 33, of Sitio Datag, Barangay Maribago, was also arrested in a buy-bust operation past 9 p.m. on Wednesday.
The elements from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) and CDEU led by Chief Inspector Sucalit and Senior Inspector Bicoy conducted the buy-bust operation and arrested Pinto, who allegedly yielded 25.48 grams of suspected shabu worth P300,664 based on DDB value, P1,300 cash believed to be proceeds from the illegal drug trade and P200 buy-bust money.
Another operation conducted by the elements of Mactan Police Station headed by Chief Insp. Wayne Magbanua resulted to the arrest of three suspected drug peddlers in Sitio Buyong, Barangay Maribago past 3 a.m. yesterday.
Helbert Amistad, 40, Isaac Dano, 41, and Florencio Gonzaga Jr., 25, were caught with a small sachet of suspected shabu worth P7,000.