Cebu City buy-bust: 5 suspects caught inside drug den

Five men were arrested during a buy-bust operation in Sitio Panagsama, Brgy. Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City on Friday afternoon, August 9. | PDEA-7 Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – A buy-bust operation in Sitio Panagsama, Brgy. Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City on Friday afternoon, August 9, resulted in the arrest of five drug suspects.

Among those arrested was the suspected drug den operator, Erwin Cabreros, 38.

Law enforcers also arrested four alleged drug den visitors who were identified as Nesel Cariman, 40; Kem Damarillos, 30; Christian Lou Arcelo, 35; and Ronil Baclay, 38.

READ: Cebu City drug den shut down, 5 people caught

Baclay was an e-bike driver while Arcelo was a construction worker.  The two others were jobless.

The buy-bust operation was conducted at around 5 p.m. by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Cebu Provincial Office, in coordination with the Mambaling Police Station.

READ: Ex-church volunteer arrested in Cebu City buy-bust; P7.1M worth of shabu seized

During the operation, law enforcers also confiscated seven packs of suspected shabu weighing at least 10 grams and with a market value of P68,000 and various drug paraphernalia.

In addition, they seized cash amounting to P200 and believed to be proceeds from the sales of illegal drugs.

READ: Cebu City buy-bust: Over P12M ‘shabu’ seized from 2 HVIs

Leia Alcantara, the PDEA-7 spokesperson, said that the buy-bust operation stemmed from a tip given by a confidential informant.

Alcantara said they conducted a case buildup for one week and learned that Cabreros is able to dispose of 10 to 15 grams of illegal drugs per week.

The arrested suspects are currently detained while authorities prepare for the filing of drug charges against them.