By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – Police arrested for the fourth time a former drug convict in a buy-bust operation that yielded 27 grams of suspected shabu worth P183,600 at Hacienda Teresita, Barangay Granada here last Saturday.
The suspect was identified as Wilfredo Palmer, 59, of Barangay Vista Alegre here, a street level individual.
Police Major Joery Puerto, head of Police Station 5, said Palmer was first arrested for a drug offense in 1996. He was then convicted and released from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City in 2003.
In that same year, Palmer was again arrested for the same offense and was released in 2013 after his case was dismissed, according to Puerto.
In 2020, policemen apprehended him again in a drug bust, but his case was dismissed, paving the way for his release three years later.
But based on their monitoring, Puerto said the suspect allegedly continued engaging in the illegal drug trade, prompting them to launch the operation against him for the fourth time.
The buy-bust operation was conducted four months after he was released in April this year, Puerto said.
Puerto said that he has no idea about the reason for the dismissal of the suspect’s previous drug cases.
But, he assured that the case against Palmer, this time, won’t be dismissed anymore.
Policemen also confiscated from him the P500 marked money and P500.
Charges for the sale and illegal possession of dangerous drugs will be filed against the suspect on Monday, August 7.
