By Jennifer P. Rendon
At 36 years old, Marvyn Garrido could be mistaken for someone almost twice his age. All thanks to years of allegedly using illegal drugs.
To sustain his illegal drug use, Garrido turned to peddling, authorities claimed.
He was arrested evening of Dec 7, 2021 in an anti-narcotics operation just outside his home at Zone 1, Barangay Rizal, Lapuz Sur, Iloilo City.
Members of the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit 6 (RPDEU-6), together with operatives from Iloilo City Police Station 2, the Regional Highway Patrol Unit 6 (RHPU-6) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 6 (CIDG-6)’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Team, collared the suspect after selling a sachet of suspected shabu for P12,000.
Lieutenant Glenn Soliman, RPDEU Team 3 leader, claimed Garrido momentarily stopped using drugs and went out of his house to hand over the sachet of shabu to a police poseur-buyer.
When later frisked, Garrido yielded eight more sachets of suspected shabu, the marked money, and several drugs and non-drug paraphernalia.
Solomon said the 35 grams of shabu seized from the suspect has a standard price of P238,000.
Investigation indicated that the suspect was a tokhang surrenderer and underwent community drug rehabilitation program.
While it was his first arrest for a drug-related offense, he was implicated in a homicide case before.
Police also considered Garrido a high-value individual (HVI) drug personality because of the volume of drugs at his disposal.
He allegedly got his supply from a source at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
Garrido’s alleged source is also the supplier of two other suspected pushers Rhaniel Refugio and Dave de Leon.
Refugio, 27, was arrested at Barangay San Isidro, La Paz on Nov 11. The RPDEU team seized from him around P476,000 worth of shabu.
De Leon, on the other hand, was arrested afternoon of Dec 6 in Arevalo, Iloilo City. Around P136,000 worth of drugs was recovered from his possession.
Just like Refugio and de Leon, Garrido will also be charged for violation of Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).
