Suspected drug den in Cebu City allegedly run by a couple shut down; 5 nabbed, P136,000 shabu seized

PDEA-7 operatives process the evidence confiscated from suspects after the raid on a suspected drug den allegedly run by a couple in Barangay Duljo Fatima, Cebu City on Monday, September 4. | PDEA-7 via Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A suspected drug den, which was allegedly run by a husband and wife tandem, was shut down by authorities after they raided the place and arrested the couple and three others in Barangay Duljo Fatima, Cebu City at past 4 p.m. on Monday, September 4.

Leia Alcantara, spokesperson of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7), said that the couple, 41-year-old Jonathan Abellana and 43-year-old Josephine Abellana, were handcuffed after the buy-bust operation against the couple was completed in their house along Spolarium Street in the barangay.

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

Suspected drug den run by couple

Alcantara said that Jonathan was allegedly the caretaker of the suspected drug den while his wife was his employee in allegedly running the suspected drug den which was their house.

Aside from that, the operatives of the PDEA-7 also confiscated from the couple 20 grams of suspected shabu which had a market value of P136,000.

Alcantara said that Jonathan, who was unemployed did not look for a job but decided instead to go into the illegal drugs business by maintaining a suspected drug den.

READ: Cebu City buy-bust: 4 nabbed after neighbors reported location of a ‘drug den’

Suspected drug den visitors

The PDEA-7 spokesperson also said that three other persons were arrested during the buy-bust operation.

Alcantara identified the three other arrested persons, two of them are unemployed while the third one is a waiter, as Junrey Algabre, 38; Michael Mendoza, 40; and Franco Yngayo, 23.

She said that the three were arrested because they were considered visitors of the drug den.

“Drug dens are breeding grounds for violence and criminality and disrupt the peace and order in the community,” said Alcantara, citing the impact of this operation in the community.

READ: Cebu City drug busts in 5 hours yield nearly P1M shabu; 8 nabbed

Raps readied against arrested persons

She also said that the five suspects were detained at the PDEA-7 detention cell pending the filing of charges.

The PDEA-7 spokesperson said that they were preparing charges of selling and possession of illegal drugs against the couple while the three other suspects would be facing a charge of visiting a drug den.

The buy-bust operation in Barangay Duljo Fatima was a joint operation of PDEA-7’s Regional Special Enforcement Team (RSET) and the Police Station 11 or the Mambaling Police Station of the Cebu City Police Office.

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