Authorities in Barangay San Nicolas Proper, Cebu City caught an 18-year-old man, who is also believed to be involved in a previous shooting incident, with suspected shabu worth P102,000 on Wednesday afternoon, February 28, 2024. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — An 18-year-old man, who is believed to be the suspect of a previous shooting incident, will be spending some time in jail after he was caught in the act of counting illegal drugs by police who were implementing a Simultaneous Anti-Criminality Law Enforcement Operation (SACLEO) in a public market in Barangay San Nicolas Proper in Cebu City on Wednesday afternoon, February 28, 2024.
The arrested person was identified as Ryan Deiparene Llatona, 18.
Llatona is a resident of Sitio Urase, Barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City and reportedly finished high school.
Police, in a report, also tagged the suspect as a High-value individual (HVI) in their station level database.
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Llatona was apprehended during the conduct of an intensified police operation against all forms of illegal activities at the Taboan Public Market in the barangay.
The operation was conducted at around 4:00 p.m. by personnel from the Special Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) of the San Nicolas Police Station.
Station Commander Police Major Francis Renz Talosig told CDN Digital in a phone interview that they initially received reports of individuals selling drugs in the market.
Because of this, their personnel patrolled the area and coincidentally saw Llatona who was allegedly counting his pieces of drugs on Wednesday in the market.
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Talosig said that Llatona was caught in the act holding in his right hand a total of 3 heat-sealed plastic packs of suspected shabu weighing around 15 grams. The confiscated illegal drugs had a Standard Drug Price (SDP) of P102,000, added the report.
In the presence of various witnesses from the local government and media, the 18-year-old was arrested by police and brought to the San Nicolas Police Station.
The report further disclosed that the pieces of drug evidence have been submitted to the Cebu City Forensic Unit for examination.
Following his arrest, Talosig said that they conducted a background check on the suspect and found that he was possibly an escapee of the Operation Second Chance Program, where children in conflict with the law are held for rehabilitation.
He said that Llatona was a minor when he was rescued for cases of possession and selling of dangerous drugs. However, he escaped by the end of 2023.
Talosig added that they were verifying reports that a warrant of arrest for murder was also allegedly issued against Llatona. The suspect is believed to be involved in a previous shooting incident.
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As of this writing, police personnel are looking into the possibility that Llatona has cohorts and are trying to identify his source of drugs.
Meanwhile, Llatona is detained at the custodial facility of the San Nicolas Police Station while authorities are preparing the documents for the filing of appropriate charges against him.
Talosig said that he would be facing charges of possession of dangerous drugs as stated in the Republic Act 9165 or the “Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002” in relation to OPLAN SACLEO.