By Jennifer P. Rendon
More than PHP1.5 million worth of shabu was seized in three separate anti-illegal drug operations in Iloilo City and the provinces of Antique and Iloilo. In a span of 15 hours, four people were arrested in the operations.
The first operation took place at 4:15 p.m. on September 26 at Zone 8, Barangay Calumpang, Molo, Iloilo City.
Members of the Iloilo City Police Office – City Drug Enforcement Unit (ICPO-CDEU) arrested Robar Pahuna, 50, and his wife, Jomalyn Pahuna, 48, both residents of the area.
The couple allegedly sold a sachet of suspected shabu for PHP10,000. Police further seized 11 more sachets of suspected shabu from their possession.
Captain Ryan Christ Inot, ICPO-CDEU team leader, said the seized drugs weighed approximately 57 grams with a street value of PHP387,600.
Inot also noted that Robar had been previously arrested for a drug-related offense in 2015 and was released from prison in 2018.
In another operation, a buy-bust at around 6:34 p.m. on Thursday in Barangay 8, San Jose, Antique, led to the arrest of a 25-year-old jobless man.
The suspect, Rodel Galicia of Barangay Malaiba, San Jose, was apprehended after selling a sachet of suspected shabu for PHP1,500.
Joint elements of the Antique Police Provincial Office – Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (APPO-PDEU), San Jose Municipal Police Station, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) – Antique, and the APPO Provincial Intelligence Unit recovered three more sachets of suspected shabu and non-drug items from Galicia.
The seized drugs weighed approximately 60 grams, with a value of PHP408,000.
The third operation was carried out by members of the Calinog Municipal Police Station against a former member of a criminal group in Iloilo province.
Anejo Tanglao Chiva, 34, a former member of the Chiva Criminal Group from Barangay Ipil, Calinog, Iloilo, was arrested in a buy-bust operation at 7:09 a.m. on September 27.
Police operatives seized five sachets of suspected shabu, PHP20,000 in buy-bust money, a brown pouch, and a mobile phone from Chiva’s possession.
The recovered drugs weighed approximately 110 grams and were valued at PHP748,000.
All suspects are now detained and will face charges for violating Republic Act 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
