P4.4M shabu seized in 4 days of operations
PDEA-7 director says easing of quarantine status may be a factor in drug supply here
These are the items confiscated by PDEA-7 agents from a high value target (HVT) during an operation in Sitio Univille, Barangay Kasambagan, Cebu City on Thursday evening, August 27, 2020. | Photos from PDEA-7
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The easing of the quarantine status in Cebu may have given illegal drug traders an opportunity to ship illegal drugs here.
This was how Levi Ortiz, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) director, explained the P4.4 million suspected shabu they confiscated in just four days of operations or from August 26 to August 29.
The PDEA-7 operations also resulted to the arrests of nine persons, some of them high value targets.
Ortiz said that illegal drug personalities would always find a way to ship their illegal items without being detected no matter how tight the security would be.
But he said that the PDEA-7 agents would continue to work hard to stop these illegal drug peddlers.
With this, Ortiz also attributed their four day success in their anti-illegal drug operations to the hardworking PDEA-7 personnel, who were persistent in their monitoring and investigation.
Given that the drug personalities would also immediately get back to their usual business, Ortiz said then they would continue to strengthen their coordination with the police and most importantly the barangays, where barangay officials would be the first ones to know the movements of drug personalities in their areas.
“Mao man gyud ni ang pinaka effective way kay sila (Barangay Officals) ang kabalo a ilahang area,” said Ortiz.
On August 26, PDEA-7 dismantled a suspected drug den in Barangay Duljo Fatima, Cebu City which led to the arrest of five persons and the confiscation of P74,800 worth of suspected shabu.
The next day, August 27, the PDEA-7 agents had their biggest illegal drug haul — P3.4 million worth of suspected shabu — during a buy-bust operation in Sitio Univille, Barangay Kasambagan, Cebu City.
They also arrested a high value target, Nel Sidra Mayor, during the operation.
PDEA-7 agents caught Mayor with 500 grams of suspected shabu or P3.4 million worth of suspected shabu.
Read: Former tourist van driver with P3.4 million worth of illegal drugs arrested in Cebu City
On Friday afternoon, August 28, PDEA-7 agents again arrested another HVT, who was identified as Rodolfo Caburnay Babaw, 53, in Barangay Tisa, Cebu City.
An estimated P340,000 worth of shabu was found from the suspect’s possession.
On Saturday evening, August 29, PDEA-7 agents arrested another high value target and his cohort in Talisay City and confiscated P680,000 worth of suspected shabu.
The operations target, the HVT, turned out later to be one of the most wanted drug personalities in the regional drug watchlist.
Read: Tile setter, masseur nabbed with P680K shabu
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