Errand boys of a big time drug dealer nabbed with P340K shabu in Mandaue

Police present Peter Esperanza (left) and Noel Tagpuno, both of Lorega, Cebu City, who were arrested with P340,000 worth of shabu in a drug bust in Mandaue City on Jan. 25, 2020. |CDND Photo/ Norman Mendoza

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – Two errand boys of a big time drug dealer were nabbed with P340,000 worth of suspected shabu (crystal meth) past 4 p.m. today, January 25, 2020, at Zuellig Avenue in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City.

Opao Police Station operatives led by Police Major Aldrin Villacampa conducted the drug operation after establishing contact with the drug dealer following a couple of weeks of surveillance.

Arrested were Noel Tagpuno, 35, and Peter Esperanza, 50, both residents of Barangay Lorega, Cebu City, and themselves considered as high value targets.

Police recovered from the suspects packs of the suspected illegal drugs worth P340,000 based on Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) valuation.

Villacampa said they were able to identity a high value target from a previously arrested drug dealer who gave police the information where he got his supply.

Villacampa said their poseur buyer was  able to make contact with the drug dealer but only Tagpuno and Esperanza came with the drugs. The drug dealer they communicated through a mobile phone could no longer be contacted after the arrest of the suspects.

Villacampa believed that the drug dealer was monitoring the suspects from a distance during the transaction and fled after learning of the arrest of his errand boys./elb