Operatives from the Civil Investigation Unit of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office have arrested Melvin Salazar, 32 years old for the possession of more than a kilo of suspected shabu during a by-bust operation this Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in Sitio FireCrash, Brgy.Bangkal, Lapu-Lapu City. LLCPO chief PLT.Col Banzon said the seized illegal substance is estimated to be worth close to P7 Million. | Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines – A 32-year-old man who was earlier charged for illegal drugs may be facing another jail time after he was caught with more than one kilogram of shabu worth close to P7 million.
Enforcers from the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LLCPO) on Wednesday afternoon, May 25, arrested a certain Melvin Salazar during a buy-bust operation in Sitio Firecrash, Brgy. Bankal in Lapu-Lapu City.
They seized a total of 14 medium and large-sized plastic packs, containing a white crystalline substance believed to be shabu. The packs weighed a total of 1.02 kilograms, with a combined worth of P6.97 million.
Salazar, a resident of Brgy. Maribago is part of the police’s list of ‘high-valued individuals’ which refers to those suspected of distributing large quantities of illegal drugs.
He was ranked 10 in the Regional Priority List, police added.
Police, together with anti-narcotic agents from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7), had been monitoring Salazar’s activities for at least a month.
Initial reports from the LLCPO showed that they received information that Salazar allegedly went back to peddling shabu, the local term for methamphetamine, shortly after he was released from prison.
The suspect was charged with violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (Republic Act No. 9165) in 2018. He entered into a Plea Bargaining Agreement which allowed him to have a shorter jail sentence, police said.
A few years later, he was arrested again for the same violation. However, Salazar was able to post bail.
Salazar is now under the custody of Lapu-Lapu City police and will be facing another round of complaints for violating the anti-illegal drugs law. /rcg
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