Regie Palotes waits to be questioned while the suspected kilo of shabu, which was confiscated from Palotes is inspected at the Cebu City Police Office. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
Four separate anti-illegal drug operations in the last two days in Cebu City, Liloan, Dalaguete and Lapu-Lapu City yielded at least P12.3 million worth of suspected shabu and led to the arrest of 8 persons.
The Cebu City Police scored the biggest haul when they arrested last night a suspected drug courier and confiscated at least a kilo of suspected shabu in Gil Tudtud St., Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.
Members of the City Intelligence Branch arrested Regie Canon Palotes, 35, after he sold a pack of suspected shabu worth P7,000 to an undercover policeman at his rented room in Barangay Mabolo.
Supt. Palaleo Addag, CIB chief, said when they checked Palotes’ room, they found two big packs of suspected shabu, which were later found to weigh at least a kilo.
Palotes said the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) estimated the suspected shabu to be worth P12 million.
Palotes, a resident of Labangon, Cebu City, said a friend had asked him to fetch the item at the South Bus Terminal and to keep it in his rented room for two days.
Palotes is detained at the Cebu City Police Office pending the filing of charges.
Also last Tuesday, in Barangay Catarman, Liloan town in northern Cebu, police confiscated more than 300 small sachets of suspected shabu worth at least P177,000.
Two persons, Sarah Mae Lofranco and Alfonso Tagalog, were arrested. They also confiscated a .45 caliber pistol with six bullets from Tagalog.
Richard Rivera, Lofranco’s live-in partner and the target of the raid, eluded arrest.
In Dalaguete town in southern Cebu also last Tuesday, police confiscated two medium packs and nine small sachets weighing at least 10 grams and worth at least P100,000 when they raided the house of a Barangay Balud councilman.
The main targets of the raid – Barangay Balud Councilman Jenemar Heredia and his brother, Janine, escaped but their cohorts Jimmy Legaspi and Vicente Belian were arrested.
Senior Insp. Dexter Basirgo, Dalaguete police chief, said charges will still be filed against the Heredia brothers despite their fugitive status.
On the same day in Lapu-Lapu City, police also arrested three persons during a raid on a house in Barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City.
Geve Lahoy-Lahoy, 25, and Maximo Tampus, 34, of Barangay Pajo and Rochell Tampus, 31, of Capitol Site, Cebu City were arrested.
Police confiscated 34 small sachets and one medium pack of suspected shabu worth at least P90,000 from the suspects.