BACOLOD City — The Police Regional Office–Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) has scored its first major anti-illegal drugs operation of the year following the seizure of more than a kilogram of suspected shabu and the arrest of two high-value targets in this city.
The buy-bust operation was carried out by the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) on January 12 at Block 6, Lot 27, Camella Subdivision, Barangay Mandalagan.
Confiscated from the suspects were around 1,300 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated standard drug price of P8.84 million.
Arrested were alias “Tata,” 53, a resident of Camella Subdivision, Barangay Mandalagan, and alias “Anthon,” 45, of Barangay Hilamonan, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
Police said the operation stemmed from information provided by a confidential informant regarding the suspects’ alleged involvement in illegal drug activities in the cities of Kabankalan, Himamaylan, and La Carlota, the towns of Cauayan, Binalbagan, and barangays Bata and Mandalagan in Bacolod.
Surveillance operations confirmed that both suspects had previously been arrested and released for violations of Republic Act (RA) 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002).
Authorities also learned that the seized shabu was being prepared for distribution during the Sinulog sa Kabankalan Festival. Acting on this information, operatives, in close coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), arranged a controlled transaction that led to the successful buy-bust operation and the arrest of the suspects.
Charges for violations of Sections 5 (sale), 11 (possession), and 26 (attempt or conspiracy) of RA 9165 are now being prepared against the suspects, who are currently detained at Police Station 3.
PRO-NIR said the operation significantly cut off the supply of illegal drugs intended for distribution during the Sinulog sa Kabankalan Festival, which runs from January 9 to 18, preventing dangerous substances from reaching festival-goers and helping ensure a peaceful, orderly, and drug-free celebration./PN
