P1.4M shabu seized, uncle and nephew arrested in Cebu City drug busts

Nineteen-year-old suspect in the drug bust in Barangay Sawang Calero near midnight on Tuesday, March 12, 2019, hides face with a towel. |CDND Photo/Benjie Talisic

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Drug busts in this city continued last night, March 12, resulting to the seizure of P1.47 million worth of drugs and the arrest of an uncle and his nephew in separate operations.

The almost simultaneous operations led to the arrest of Joselindro Getaruelas, 19, and his nephew of the same age, JM Cardinas.

The bigger bust occured at 11:30 p.m. at a residence in Tupaz Street of Barangay Sawang Calero leading to the arrest of  Cardinas in possession of about 2oo grams of shabu valed at P1.3 million.

Cardinas claimed that he did not know about the shabu, claiming that the package that contained the drugs was just left in his care by his uncle, a certain “Usig,”  to be given to someone who would come to pick it up.

It turned out that “Usig” was Getaruelas, who a few minutes earlier was also arrested in front of a school on C. Padilla Street, also in Sawang Calero,  following a drug bust by the Labangon Police. He was found in possession of about 25 grams of shabu with a corresponding value of P170,000.

Senior Inspector Francis Renz Talosig, chief of the  Mambaling Police Precinct,  said they implemented the drug bust on Tupaz Street in coordination with drug enforcement units of the police precincts in Labagon ang San Nicolas.

Getaruelas, speaking to reporters following his arrest, insisted that his nephew Cardinas did not know that the package that he left in his care contained drugs.

Getaruelas claimed that the package was sent to him for disposal by his ‘boss” he declined to name but who he claimed is currently imprisoned at the Cebu City Jail./elb