A former barangay councilman who is accused of operating a drug den in sitio Kamalig, barangay Panugnawan, Medellin, northern Cebu was arrested in a buy-bust operation at around 7:50 a.m. yesterday.
Police said Buenaventura Quiseo Diaz alias Verino, 37, a former councilman of barangay Panugnawan, was under surveillance for two weeks.
Diaz was arrested along with Roberto Sumarago Opon alias Ruby, 32, his alleged cohort in the illegal trade.
Medellin’s police chief, Senior Inspector Christopher Fernandez, told Cebu Daily News that both Diaz and Opon are in their watch list for drug personalities.
“They don’t dispose of huge quantities of illegal drugs, and they move from one place to another here in Medellin. They even have lookouts who guard their places in shifts,” he said.
A caliber 357 Magnum revolver and six bullets for a caliber 38 were confiscated from Diaz while a 9 mm pistol with six bullets were seized from Opon.
The buy-bust was made in a makeshift shelter that served as a drug den in an isolated area in the barangay, where a police operative pretended to buy P500 worth of illegal drugs.
Nine others who were mostly from Daanbantayan and Bogo city were also arrested for being in the drug den.
Of the nine, three were Medellin residents: Ernani Sinoy alias Nani, 35; Rafil Dejito alias Tom, 45; truck man Ian Pepito, 26 and Cebu Electric Cooperative II lineman Randy Alarde, 37.
Two others were from Daanbantayan. They were Noel Gullim alias Niño, 19, and Rodeo Cutab alias RC, 30. The other three were from Bogo City, namely Randy Dadula, 39; Dustin Bedrijo, 35; and Mark Anthony Rondina alias Toni, 32.
Various drug paraphernalia were confiscated from the nine arrested suspects.
Meanwhile, in Mandaue City, four illegal drug pushers were arrested by the police in a raid using a search warrant yesterday morning in barangays Maguikay and Guizo.
Nino “Nilo” Marababol, 46, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and 27 packs of illegal drugs worth of P100,770.
Arrested in another raid were Leo Capuyan, 50, and his brothers Epifanio, 25, and Edison, 35.