P39-M drug haul in 2 separate Cebu City buy-bust operations — police

A total of P39 million drug haul was recorded in Cebu City past midnight on Saturday, March 26, 2022. | Photo screen grabbed from PCol Ernesto Tagle FB Live

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Some P39 million worth of suspected shabu’ was confiscated at 30 minutes after midnight of March 26, 2022 in two separate police operations in Cebu City.

The buy-bust operation along Panganiban Balagtas St. in Barangay Pahina Central, Cebu City yielded 5.1 kilos of suspected shabu, which was considered as the biggest drug haul in Cebu City as of March this year.

Policemen from the City Drug Enforcement Unit of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) estimated the market value of the confiscated shabu at P34.8 million.

They also arrested during the operation ShellJay Cuyno, 24, and Dennis Centino, 24, who are both Barangay Ermita residents.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Devaras, deputy director for administration of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), described both arrested suspects as high value individuals in the regional level, and this meant that these two were capable of disposing at least 2 kilos of shabu every week in the region.

Devaras said that their market of their illegal drugs included the tricities of Cebu and some cities and municipalities in Cebu Province.

Devaras also said that the suspects mentioned a name as the source of their illegal drugs, but this had yet to be verified.

He also refused to give details about this because a followup operation was ongoing.

However, Devaras said that Cuyno was a former delivery rider while Centino is his cousin.

Devaras also believed that the drug haul of the police would cause a dent in the supply of illegal drugs in Cebu island.

“Dako og mawala sa atoang drug pushers kay dako man ni siya nga drugs nga unta ilang madistribute sa island sa Cebu. Sa pagkakuha ani, dako nig kawalan sa ilaha,” Devaras said.

(This is a big loss to the drug pushers because this is a big amount of drugs that they could have distributed in the island of Cebu. With this confiscation, this is a big loss to them.)

Devaras said that it took them almost two weeks of surveillance to close a transaction with the suspects because the latter were very careful in the persons they were dealing with.

LOOK: P34.8M drug haul in Cebu City

In an interview with the media, Cuyno, who was the subject of the operation, admitted that he was paid P10,000 per kilo of the shabu that he could dispose of.

Centino, on the other hand, also admitted that it was P7,000 for him for every successful transaction that they could close.

They also told the media that they were new to this illegal drug activity.

Devaras, however, said that he believed that Cuyno allegedly used his job when he was a delivery rider as a front for his illegal business, and this was before Cuyno allegedly went into big transactions.

“Wala na ni sya as delivery rider. Siguro nidako na iyang pangangailangan, and he needs to shift to this kind of illegal activity,” Devaras said.

(He is no longer a delivery rider. I am sure that his needs must have gone up and he needed to shift to this kind of illegal activity.)

Both suspects were detained at the CCPO holding facility pending the filing of charges.

Punta Princesa buy-bust

At about the same time the Barangay Pahina operation was conducted, policemen of the Labangon Police Station also confiscated 600 grams of suspected shabu which had a market value of P4 million in another buy-bust operation in Barangay Punta Princesa, Cebu City.

Police Major Janelito Marquez, chief of Labangon Police Station, said that they also arrested Jaime Villahermosa, 53, a resident of Barangay Basak-Pardo, Cebu City, during the operation.

Marquez described Villahermosa as a high value individual in the regional level of the police watchlist.

The police official said that Villahermosa could allegedly dispose 100 grams of shabu in a week.

Marquez also said that Villahermosa was previously jailed for the same offense and was released from jail in 2020 after he applied for a plea bargain.

The police chief also said that they were still investigating and verifying Villahermosa’s claims that his contact for the supply of his illegal drugs was inside one of the jails in Cebu island.

“According niya, tawagan lang sya sa sulod and then kwaon ra niya ang shabu para ideliver sad sa uban,” Marquez said.

(According to him, the one inside the jail would call him and then he would pick up the shabu that he would deliver to others.)

Marquez said they were still verifying this claim of Villahermosa.

Villahermosa was detained at the Labangon Police Station detention cell pending the filing of charges.

READ: Drug courier nabbed in Talisay with P1million ‘shabu’