ILOILO City — A job hire employee of the Iloilo City Hall was arrested after anti-narcotics operatives seized over P1.6 million worth of suspected shabu during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Zamora-Melliza, City Proper district on Tuesday evening, May 26.
The 47-year-old alias “Dadang,” a resident of the said barangay, is a job hire worker assigned to the city’s Facility Conservation Office.
Elements of the Iloilo City Police Office’s City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) recovered approximately 240 grams of suspected shabu from the suspect’s possession during the operation.
In a DYRI RMN Iloilo interview, Police Captain Roque Gimeno III, CDEU chief, said Dadang is classified as a high-value individual. Intelligence reports reveal that the suspect allegedly sources the illegal drug supply from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), with the items being delivered directly to the suspect via commercial parcel services.
Investigation further disclosed that the suspect was previously arrested in 2015 during a drug buy-bust operation in Mandurriao district. The suspect served time at the NBP and was only released in 2024.
While the suspect denied using illegal drugs, police are preparing charges for the violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. As of press time, the suspect remained under police custody./PN
