ILOILO – A high-value individual was apprehended and P448,000 worth of contraband was seized by the Balasan Municipal Police Station (MPS) in an anti-illegal drug operation on Thursday, December 12, in the town’s Barangay Tingui-an.
The 31-year-old alias “Edgar”, a resident of Barangay Gogo, Estancia, Iloilo, was a former member of the Philippine National Police.
He yielded a total of 15 plastic sachets of suspected shabu weighing approximately 66 grams, along with a caliber .38 revolver and five live cartridges during the late-night operation at 10:40 p.m.
Also recovered was P20,090 in buy-bust money.
The suspect was detained at the Balasan MPS. He is facing charges for violation of Republic Act (RA) 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) and RA 10591 (Comprehensive Firearm and Ammunition Regulation Act).
Colonel Bayani Razalan, director of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO), said the suspect was a former police recruit batch 2018. He was dismissed from the service in 2020 for illegal discharge of firearm and has a pending case for violation of RA 10591.
In an earlier operation executed by officers of the IPPO at around 9:01 p.m., Western Visayas’ No. 4 fugitive was collared in Barangay Bagacay, Tigbauan, Iloilo.
The 43-year-old alias “Anton is facing cases for violating RA 10591, as well as Presidential Decree No. 1866, amended by RA 9516, concerning explosives and firearms./PN
