Cebu City buy-bust: Suspected drug den shut down, recidivist and three others nabbed

Authorities nabbed a recidivist and three others during a buy bust operation in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City, on Thursday, August 24,2023. | PDEA-7 Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Authorities arrested a female recidivist, accused of being a drug den maintainer, and three others during a buy-bust operation in Sitio Balagon, Barangay Labangon, Cebu City on Wednesday evening, August 24, 2023.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7), in a press release, identified the subject of the operation and the alleged drug den maintainer as 70 year-old Rebona A. Fuentes alias “Marilou,” jobless.

A recidivist is defined as a convicted criminal who relapses and commits crimes again even after being receiving punishment.

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Leia Alcantara, spokesperson of PDEA-7, said that the alleged suspect was previously arrested by their operatives in January 2020 for visiting a drug den and that she was convicted in November of the same year.

She also said that the buy-bust operation was a result of a case buildup that took two weeks.

Alcantara added that Fuentes can dispose around 20 grams of illegal drugs per week.

Also apprehended during the operation were three alleged drug den visitors: Linjie Jabel, 30, construction worker; Noel De Ezara, 28, and Francisco Ebonalo, 15, both pedicab drivers.

The anti-illegal drugs operation, which also lead to the dismantling of a suspected drug den, was a joint operation by personnel of PDEA-7 and the Labangon Police Station.

The Cebu City buy-bust was conducted at around 7:10 p.m.

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Personnel seized from the suspects a total of 13 small packs of suspected shabu weighing around 15 grams.

The confiscated suspected illegal drugs has a Standard Drug Price (SDP) of P102,000.

They also confiscated an opened plastic sachet believed to have traces of shabu, buy-bust money, and various drug paraphernalia at the scene.

The pieces of drug evidence have been submitted to the PDEA-7 laboratory for proper disposition.

The arrested suspects will be facing charges of possession and selling of illegal drugs, maintaining a drug den, visiting a drug den, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to PDEA-7.

Alcantara said that Fuentes will be facing charges of possession and selling of illegal drugs.

Meanwhile, the other three, will be charged with cases of possession of illegal drugs and visiting a drug den, she said.

/bmjo