P31 million worth of shabu seized from Grab driver in Carcar City

Roblen Mata Repdos of Carcar City fell into the hands of anti-drug operatives in a buy-bust operation on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. The suspect yielded more than P31 million worth of illegal drugs. |Photo from the Talisay City Police Station.

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Big-time drug peddling continues to flourish in Cebu despite the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the COVID-19 crisis.

This after anti-drug operatives seized 4.6 kilograms of suspected shabu (crystal meth) with a dangerous drug board value of P31,280,000 from a grab driver at noon today, April 8, 2020, in Sitio Danao, Barangay Valencia, Carcar City in southern Cebu.

The drug bust operation was jointly conducted by the Talisay City Police, Provincial Intelligence Unit (PIU), Carcar City Police and the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit (RDEU), in close coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-7.

Nabbed in the buy-bust was Roblen Mata Repdos, 42, married, a Grab taxi driver and a resident of the area. Police said the suspect has kids but as to how many, they still have to verify.

Police said they learned about Repdos’s illegal activities after he was tagged as the source of illegal drugs by drug personalities they have arrested the previous night (Tuesday).

Seized from Repdos were 10 medium packs of suspected shabu, seven medium packs, three sealed green tea bags with Chinese markings which also contained the illegal substance and the marked money used in the operation.

Police Regional Office (PRO-7) chief Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, said he believes Repdos is not a big-time drug dealer but was just used as a courier and bodegero.

According to Ferro, the use of tea bags with Chinese markings as shabu containers is the signature of the Chinese triad, a group long regarded as the manufacturer of illegal drugs in the Asian region.

The regional police chief also assured Cebuanos that despite the extra responsibilities of implementing the ECQ, policemen will remain vigilant against the distribution of drugs in the region.

“The police are not resting. in fact, two days ago, or one day ago our personnel from the mobile force of CPPO were able to seize 20,000 stalks of marijuana. Our police force in PRO -7 are really are not resting on their functions as the law enforcement unit of the government,” Ferro said.

Ferro added that he is hopeful that with the arrest of Repdos, they will be able to unmask his possible cohorts and contacts.

Repdos is now detained at the Talisay Police Station pending the filing of appropriate charges in court. /rcg