Six men were arrested inside a suspected drug den in Barangay San Roque in Talisay City during a buy-bust operation, Saturday night, November 2, 2019. | Photo grabbed from the PDEA RO VII Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Six men skipped their cemetery visits on All Souls’ Day.
They ended up arrested in a buy-bust operation in suspected drug den in Barangay San Roque in Talisay City at around 8 p.m. on Saturday, November 2, 2019.
The suspects were identified as Edilberto Edillo Endriga Jr., 61; Ariel Abapo Abangan, 41; Joseph Austre Villa, 42; Roy Pace Mahilum, 38; Richard Gabato Abangan, 41; and Art Clinton Aranaez Sabado, 27.
PDEA-7 agents confiscated 11 packs of suspected shabu weighing at least 13 grams and and worth around P80,000 from the drug den.
Leia Alcantara, information officer of the Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7), said that Endriga, who is considered a high value target, was the subject of the buy-bust operation.
A total of 11 sachets of suspected shabu worth P80, 000 were also confiscated during the buy-bust operation. | Photo grabbed from the PDEA RO VII Facebook page
Endriga is able to dispose 20 to 50 grams of shabu per week to buyers in Talisay City, she added.
Alcantara said that different men are often seen visiting Endriga’s home which he also converted into a drug den.
Taking action from a tip coming from a concerned citizen, Alcantara said that PDEA-7 agents placed Endriga under surveillance for at least two weeks before they planned the buy-bust operation.
She said that they only chanced upon the five other suspects who were inside Endriga’s residence during the buy-bust operation, Saturday night.
During their interrogation, PDEA-7 learned that Ariel Abangan works as a construction worker while Villa was a sales clerk. Richard Abangan, Mahilum and Sabado were tricycle drivers.
Alcantara said the suspects are now locked up at the PDEA-7 detention facility located in Sitio Sudlon, Barangay Lahug in Cebu City while they prepare for the filing of charges for the violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 against them. / dcb