P628,796 Worth of ‘Shabu’ Seized in Bacolod

A 28-year-old man was busted with P510,000 worth of suspected shabu in a buy-bust operation in Barangay 1, Bacolod City, Friday. (Photo courtesy of Bacolod City Police Office)

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD CITY — Another significant recovery of illegal drugs amounting to P628,796 was reported here and in Negros Occidental on Thursday and early Friday.

Operatives of the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) arrested an individual known as “Ar-Ar” for the confiscation of 75 grams of suspected shabu worth P510,000 in a buy-bust operation in Barangay 1 yesterday.

Police Captain Joven Mogato, CDEU head, said the 28-year-old suspect had been monitored for two weeks following reports of his alleged involvement in illegal drugs.

Mogato mentioned that the suspect had a frustrated murder case here when he was still a minor in 2010 and was released from a facility in Guimaras in 2017. This is the suspect’s first apprehension for a drug offense.

Mogato suggested that the suspect’s relatives might have influenced him to engage in illegal activities, as some of them are on the police’s drug list.

Although newly identified, the suspect is classified as a high-value individual due to the significant quantity of drugs recovered, Mogato added.

The suspect is detained at Police Station 2, where drug charges are being filed.

This operation occurred two days after the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) recorded its biggest drug haul for the month, amounting to P5.1 million in Barangay Singcang-Airport last Wednesday.

Meanwhile, three individuals were apprehended in a drug bust in Barangay Rizal, San Carlos City, last Thursday, with the recovery of 17.47 grams of suspected shabu worth P118,796.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Nazer Canja, city police chief, said a 44-year-old man was the subject of the operation. His two companions, aged 42 and 45, will also be charged with various offenses.

Canja noted that the 44-year-old suspect had been previously arrested for a drug offense. Police also recovered an improvised tooter, aluminum foil, and P2,100 in marked money.