Five individuals that included two women were arrested in a buy-bust operation Monday night, January 24, while in a “drug den” in barangay Labangon, Cebu City. | Photo courtesy of PDEA-7
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A tip coming from a concerned citizen led agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) to a drug den that is located in the interior of Sitio Callejon in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City.
Five individuals, including two women, were arrested inside the drug den during the buy-bust operation that agents planned Monday night, January 24, while one managed to escape, says Leia Alcantara, the PDEA-7 spokesperson.
PDEA-7 agents also recovered suspected shabu weighing 15 grams and worth P102, 000; drug paraphernalia; and a bullet from inside the drug den.
The arrested individuals were identified as Jingle Misa, 35; June Labingco, 33; Benjamin Alcontin, 32; Jessel Mantong, 22; and Marriane Jandog, 20. All of the five suspects are neighbors in Sitio Callejon.
Misa, Alcantara said, is the drug den operator.
As of this writing, agents continue to look for a certain April Mahandog, who escaped during the buy-bust operation.
Seriously Drug-Affected
Barangay Labangon has been listed as one of the “seriously” drug-affected barangays in Cebu City and the arrest of the five suspects and the dismantling of the drug den in Sitio Callejon is expected to lessen, if not stop, illegal drug activities in the area, Alcantara said.
The drug den in Sitio Callejon was the first to be dismantled by PDEA-7 this year.
“Labangon is one of our seriously drug-affected barangays in the city. Based on DDB Regulation No. 4, Series of 2022, this means [that] aside from drug users and peddlers, there are also reported drug dens in the barangay. Clearing seriously drug-affected barangays is not easy, but if the barangay is persistent and committed, it is a very doable and worthy endeavor,” Alcantara said.
Tip from Netizen
Alcantara said they would always welcome help coming from the community in their campaign against illegal drugs.
Monday’s operation, she said, started with a tip coming from a concerned citizen that was sent through their “Isumbong Mo Kay Wilkins” program.
It took agents a month to do a case build up before they finally planned the buy-bust operation on Monday.
During their case build-up, they learned that Misa is able to dispose at least 50 grams to shabu daily to visitors of his drug den.
Alcantara said all of the five suspects are now detained at the PDEA-7 holding facility in Barangay Lahug while they also prepare for the filing of complains for the violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act against them.
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