Slippery suspect nabbed in Tinago bust; P279K shabu seized

Daniel Buenavente is caught with 41 grams of suspected shabu during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Tinago, Cebu City on Wednesday. | Photo by Benjie Talisic

CEBU CITY, Philippines — While Cebu Province police officers netted an estimated P14.6 million of suspected shabu on Wednesday, January 30, their Cebu City counterparts also arrested a slippery drug suspect and confiscated an estimated P279,000 during an anti-illegal drug operation on the same day in Barangay Tinago in Cebu City.

The Mambaling Police Precinct’s Drug Enforcement Unit arrested Daniel Buenavente, 24, of Barangay Tinago, after he was caught with 41 grams of suspected shabu, said Senior Inspector Francis Renz Talosig, Mambaling Police Precinct chief, in an interview on Thursday.

Read more: Three dead in Balamban, Argao buy-bust shootouts; cops seize P14.6M suspected shabu

Talosig said they conducted the buy-bust operation on Wednesday when they learned that the suspect was living in Barangay Tinago after his escape from a police raid on his house in  Barangay Duljo-Fatima last August.

Talosig said that Buenavente, who grew up in Barangay Duljo Fatima, said that Buenavente had eluded arrest five months ago when he was served a warrant to search his house in Barangay Duljo Fatima.

 He said that Buenavente escaped through his house’s backdoor as police were about to serve a search warrant against him.

Talosig said that illegal drugs were found during that operation.

On Wednesday, Mambaling police conducted a buy-bust operation against Buenavente and made sure that he would not escape this time around.

Buenavente was caught with 41 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated Dangerous Drugs Board value of P279, 344, said Talosig.

Buenavente was detained at the Mambaling Police Precinct detention cell pending the filing of charges./dbs