Student nabbed for selling drugs; P100K ‘shabu’ seized

Police arrested a college student and confiscated an estimated P100,000 worth of illegal drugs during an anti-illegal drug operation in Sitio Villagonzalo 2 in Barangay Tejero, Cebu City.

Operatives of the Waterfront Police Station collared Christian Mari Tiu, 18, a second year Marine Engineering student of a university in Cebu City, after he handed over a pack of suspected shabu to undercover police officers during a buy-bust operation, said PO2 Gian Carlo Saberon of the Waterfront Police Station.

The police operation was done at past 2 a.m. on Saturday in a Villagonzalo 2 street.

Recovered from Tiu’s possession was a medium size pack of suspected shabu weighing 50 grams, which police estimated to have a Dangerous Drugs Board value of P100,000.

Tiu told police that he did not know that he was selling shabu and that he was only selling the pack handed to him by a woman.

He said he agreed to sell the pack to raise money to pay for the balance of his tuition.

Saberon said that Tiu was not really the target of their operation but the woman supplying the drugs to Tiu.

“We were supposedly targeting this woman, but when we launched the operation, we were surprised that it was Tiu who transacted with us, more so that he was a student,” Saberon said in Cebuano.

Saberon said he and his team disguised themselves as nursing students since they received information that the woman would usually sell illegal drugs to college students.

He also said that among those who would buy from her also reportedly included some taxi, jeepney and motorcycle drivers.

Saberon said that Tiu pleaded with them not to arrest him since he was only doing it out of a need to raise money for his school expenses.

“We told him that we’re just doing our job,” Saberon said.

Tiu was detained at the Waterfront Police detention cell pending the filing of charges.