After P3.4M shabu haul, police checking if bigger supply of drugs from Manila has entered Cebu City

Policemen inventory the P3.4 million worth of suspected shabu in front of the three men, who were caught with the illegal drugs in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Quiot, Cebu City on Monday, December 30, 2019.  | Contributed photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — There may be a bigger supply of illegal drugs in Cebu City, which were shipped from Manila in time for Christmas and the New Year celebration.

Police Colonel Glenn Mayam, Philippine Drug Enforcement Group in Central Visayas (PDEG-7) chief, said that this was what they were suspecting after they confiscated at least 500 grams of suspected shabu from three men, one of whom was a high value target in their watchlist. 

Mayam was referring to the buy-bust operation at past 4 p.m. on Monday, December 30, in Sitio Mayupay, Barangay Quiot, Cebu City, where they confiscated the 500 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated Dangerous Drugs Board value of P3.4 million.

This was the second buy-bust operation in Cebu City in three days that police confiscated at least P3 million worth of illegal drugs.

Read more: Man caught with P3.2 million worth of suspected shabu in Bulacao bust

Last Saturday, December 28, Pardo police conducted a buy-bust operation in Pardo and arrested Martin Abellana, 26, who was caught with 475 grams of suspected shabu, which have a DDB value of P3.2 million.

Mayam said that with this amount of drugs confiscated he believed that drug personalities from Manila had managed to sneak in a shipment of shabu in Cebu.

“Ang problema nato kuwang tag gamit pareho anang mga sniffing dogs unya daghan ta og ports. Unya open ang Cebu so dili makaya sa mga other law enforcement agencies nga icover tanan so naay mga ports nga walay sniffing dogs,” said Mayam.

(Our problem is our lack of drug detecting equipment or animals such as drug sniffing dogs and Cebu has a lot of ports. Cebu is also an open area which makes it difficult for law enforcement agencies to cover all ports and there are ports that have no drug sniffing dogs.)

He said that this might be how drug personalities shipped their illegal drugs to Cebu despite the tight security that law enforcement agencies implement in Cebu’s ports.

But Mayam said that they would continue to intensify their operations despite these challenge.

He said that the police force would have to be more alert about illegal drug activities and coordinate with the community to pinpoint and arrest drug personalities in these areas.

He cited as their latest buy-bust operation in Quiot as an example of their intensified operation.

In the Quiot drug bust, the PDEG-7 policemen arrested Allan Navaro Dacuma, 32, of Sitio Soran, Barangay Quiot, together with Arnel Cabeluna Thomas, 32, also from the area and Mike Guardierio Rabadon, 26, from Barangay Punta Prinsesa.

He said that they had placed Dacuma under surveillance for a month after they received reports of Dacuma’s illegal activities.

Dacuma and the two other suspects were detained at the Pardo Police Station detention cell pending the filing of possession and selling of illegal drugs charges./dbs