[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’ 2 WOMEN YIELD P1.1-M SHABU | ‘Biggest’ police haul since resumption of drug war’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=’custom’ color=”]
INSERT DATE HERE!
[/av_textblock]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
ILOILO City – Shabu worth P1.1 million was seized from two women in Barangay Benedicto, Jaro district yesterday.
Over two weeks of surveillance paid off, according to Senior Superintendent Christopher Tambungan, deputy regional director for operations of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
The suspects were Jennie Bee Goriona, 37, of Barangay Mabolo-Delgado, City Proper and Vivien Sian, 37, of Barangay Gustilo, La Paz district.
“They are drug couriers. They carry huge volumes of shabu,” said Tambungan.
He considered the shabu seizure as the PRO-6’s biggest so far since the resumption of the Philippine National Police’s drug war in March this year.
PRO-6’s Regional Drug Enforcement Unit led by Superintendent Jose Rey Pabalan carried out the sting operation around 11:30 a.m. An undercover police officer initially bought a sachet of shabu worth P5,200 from the two women.
The suspects yielded more shabu when inspected after their arrest.
Tambugan said the shabu recovered weighed approximately 139 grams and valued at P1.1 million.
The suspects’ supplier was based in Manila, according to Tambungan, and the shabu entered Iloilo via seaports.
As of this writing, the women were under tactical interrogation at the Jaro police station.
“We want to know more about their drug group and the extent of their operation,” said Tambungan.
The police chief of Jaro, Senior Inspector Ronaldo Amihan, said the suspects were not in his police station’s lists of drug personalities in the district.
“Perhaps they are new players,” said Amihan.
BARANGAY CLEARING
Meanwhile, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) will launch clearing operations for 115 “slightly drug-affected” barangays in this city.
“We are required by the Office of the President to declare drug-cleared barangays before the (State of the Nation Address) of the President,” said PDEA regional director Gil Pabilona during the quarterly meeting of the Iloilo City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (ICADAC) on April 27.
Pabilona said they would meet with counterparts in the Philippine National Police, Barangay Drug Abuse Councils (BADAC) and ICADAC to identify priority barangays.
The clearing operations would entail visitation and accounting of drug personalities in the watch list of PDEA and the BADACs. The intention is to ensure that all those in the list will have “zero active drug use”, said Pabilona.
They will be required to undergo drug testing. Those who test positive will undergo appropriate intervention while those who refuse to surrender will be subjected to antidrug operations. They will be arrested or PDEA will seek a compulsory confinement through the courts, said Pabilona.
After the identification of priority barangays, an oversight committee will be created. It will be responsible in determining whether a barangay is already cleared of illegal drugs.
The visitation and accounting of drug personalities in the watch list follows Phase 1 of the barangay drug-clearing operation where village officials and barangay tanods were subjected to drug testing. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
