Kalunasan bust: Cousins nabbed with P1.4M shabu

Two women were arrested by Parian Police Station with P36,000 worth of suspected shabu during a Monday buy-bust in Barangay Duljo Fatima this afternoon, August 24, 2020. | Photo from Parian Police Station

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Two cousins, who used their small businesses as fronts for selling illegal drugs, were caught with P1.4 million of suspected shabu during a buy-bust operation in Opra, Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City in the late afternoon of August 24, 2020.

Joel John Palo Gamao, 25, and Mary Jane Palo Gabunada, 26, of Barangay Kalunasan were arrested during the buy bust operation at the house of Gabunada, said Police Captain Romeo Caacoy Jr., team leader of the Regional Drug Enforcement Unit, whose team conducted the operation at past 5 p.m. 

Gamao and Gabunada were caught with 205 grams of suspected shabu which had an estimated Dangerous Drugs Board value of P1.4 million.

Caacoy said that Gamao allegedly used his habal-habal or motorcycle-for-hire business while Gabunada also used her online selling business as fronts for their illegal drugs activities.

Caacoy said that the two would use their businesses to find clients and to deliver the illegal drugs to them.

The two suspects were detained at the Abellana Police Station detention cell pending the filing of illegal drugs charges.

The P14 million drug haul followed after police confiscated P1.2 million of suspected shabu on Sunday, August 23, 2020.

Read: Mambaling cops seize P1.2M shabu, nab one HVI

At least 30 minutes earlier, two women, who had served time in jail for illegal drugs, were again caught resorting to selling illegal drugs in Barangay Duljo-Fatima, Cebu City.

 Riza Suarez Navarro, 39, and Sarah Gomez Bermejo, 54, who are both residents of Barangay Duljo Fatima, were caught with five grams of suspected shabu during a buy bust operation in the barangay at around 4:30 p.m. of August 24, said Police Major Armando Labora, station commander of Parian police station, in a phone interview with CDN Digital.

Labora said that the confiscated suspected shabu had an estimated DDB value of P36,000.

Labora said that after receiving reports of Navarro and Bermejo, they decided to place them under surveillance for two weeks.

He described the women as having served time in jail, but he still did not know the details about the women’s spending time in jail for selling and possession of illegal drugs.

Initial investigation revealed that the two used their fronted jobs in also contacting and delivering the illegal drugs.

The two arrested women were detained at the Abellana Police Station pending the filing of charges.