Two men were nabbed with illegal drugs during a buy-bust operation on Saturday, December 10, in Barangay Pooc, Talisay City. | Photo from Talisay Police Station
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Ricardo Piadopo, 33, supervises the deployment of porters in a warehouse in Barangay Pooc in Talisay City that is used to store sacks of rice.
He is also tasked to make sure that they get paid.
On top of this, Talisay City police learned that he would also supply ‘shabu’ to some of the porters, who are under his watch.
Piadopo, and his alleged cohort, who was identified as Marson Plazo, 28, were arrested in a buy-bust operation in a shanty in Sitio Cainta in Barangay Pooc at about 11 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10. The shanty is located close to the warehouse where he works.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Randy Caballes, chief of Talisay City Police Station, said both men are now detained while they prepare for the filing of charges against them.
Caballes said they recovered 30.25 grams of suspected shabu worth P205,700 from the suspects.
The Talisay City Police chief said that Piadopo is originally from Barangay Subangdaku in Mandaue City but is temporarily residing close to his work place in Barangay Pooc.
Plazo, on the other hand, is a native of Ubay town in Bohol province.
According to the outcome of their investigation, Plazo would allegedly help Piadopo distribute ‘shabu’ to his buyers, especially the porters.
Caballes said they already talked to the warehouse owner, who told police that he was unaware of Piadopo’s illegal drug business.
The warehouse owner also told them that Piadopo was not a regular employee of his company. He was only hired to help in their deliveries.
As of this writing, Caballes said, they continue to determine if Piadopo’s shanty was being used as a drug den as they also try to locate his source of shabu.
Caballes said the suspect would reportedly get his supply through an inmate at the Mandaue City District Jail, where he was also jailed in 2017 for an illegal gambling case. He was released from jail in July 2020.
A few months after his release, he moved to Barangay Pooc in Talisay City to work at the warehouse.
Since his arrival in Barangay Pooc, police have been getting tips from concerned citizens on his illegal drug business.
Caballes said Piadopo would reportedly dispose at least 100 grams of shabu to buyers in Talisay City.
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