Buaya community’s concern leads to HVT’s arrest

A 43-year-old man considered as a high-value target (HVT) of the PDEA-7 and Police, is arrested in a buy-bust in Barangay Buaya, Lapu-Lapu City, this afternoon, August 11, 2020. | Photo from PDEA-7

Buaya community’s concern leads to arrest of high-value target

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Complaints from people in the community about several unfamiliar people visiting a resident’s house in Barangay Buaya, Lapu-Lapu City led to the arrest on August 11, 2020 of a suspected drug pusher considered by authorities as a a high-value target 

Allan Ramirez also known as “Allan Kagid”, 43, was arrested at 1:55 p.m. of August 11 during a buy-bust operation in his residence in Barangay Buaya, Lapu-Lapu City,  said Leia Albiar, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) splokesperson, in a phone interview.

Ramirez was caught with .50 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated Dangerous Drugs Board value of P3,400.

Read: PRO-7 chief: P381M worth of shabu seized in six months

Albiar said that Ramirez was in their high-value target (HVT) list especially since Ramirez was believed as a pusher, who could dispose from three grams to five grams of suspected shabu in a week.

Aside from that, she said that Ramirez’s clients were allegedly mostly minors.

Albiar said that the operation against Ramirez was conducted after they received reports from the community about Ramirez’s suspected illegal activities and the community’s concern about seeing different unfamiliar faces visiting the house of the suspect.

“Daghan ta na-receive complaints ani niya from the community mismo kay bisan kinsa na kuno ang muadto sa iyang balay para mupalit,” said Albiar.

(We received a lot of complaints about this person from the community as there were unknown people coming in his house to buy illegal drugs.)

The residents were worried with the activity Ramirez was involved in, especially since the people arriving and going out in the area were unfamiliar faces.

PDEA-7 agents then put Ramirez under surveillance for two weeks where they confirmed his illegal activities.

PDEA-7 and the policemen from the Provincial Intelligence Unit of the Cebu Police Provincial Office then conducted the buy-bust operation against Ramirez today.

Ramirez was detained at the PDEA-7 detention facility pending the filing of charges against him./dbs