ILOILO City – The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) confiscated around P5 million worth of suspected shabu during an intensified operation across Western Visayas.
The 24-hour operation started on Thursday morning, August 21, until Friday morning, August 22, and yielded 727.10 grams of the said illegal drugs.
PRO-6 data also showed that 22 suspects were arrested from a total of 13 operations. Of the number of arrests, 12 were tagged as high-value targets, nine were street-level suspects, and the rest were newly identified drug personalities.
The biggest volume of confiscation was made during a buy-bust operation in Happy Homes Subdivision, Barangay Oñate De Leon, Mandurriao district around 2 a.m. on Friday.
About 230 grams of suspected shabu worth P1,564,000, firearms, ammunition, and non-drug-related items were recovered.
Joint elements of the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit 6 (RDEU-6), Iloilo City Police Station 5 (ICPS5), Iloilo City Police Office’s City Intelligence Unit, and Regional Intelligence Division 6 (RID-6) also apprehended three high-value suspects identified as aliases “Abdul”, 33, of Iloilo City; “Toto”, 39 of Antique; and “Miah”, 42 of Aklan; and three others classified as street-level suspects only known by their aliases “Enoc”, 18, and “Zar”, 27, both from Iloilo City; and “James”, 23, of Antique.
Another significant operation was carried out in Batad, Iloilo. Alias “Jeffrey”, a 26-year-old criminology student, and a resident of the town, was caught with P816,000 worth of suspected shabu in Barangay Batad Viejo at 5:12 p.m. on Thursday.
PRO-6 director Brigadier General Josefino Ligan commended the operating units for their relentless efforts.
“We will continue our operations against drug peddlers and other lawless elements, and protect our communities from the menace of illegal drugs. Our commitment to a drug-free Western Visayas is unwavering,” Ligan said.
All suspects are now under the custody of the concerned police stations for proper disposition and filing of appropriate charges./PN
