DUMAGUETE CITY – Anti-narcotics operatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP) have arrested suspected drug pushers in relentless operations against illegal drugs trade.
Three suspects were arrested in separate buy-bust operations this week, Supt. Jonathan Pineda, the police chief of Dumaguete, said on Thursday.
An initial police report said that around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, operatives of the City Drug Enforcement Unit of the Dumaguete led by Sr. Insp. Ian Arapols and under the supervision of Pineda conducted a buy-bust operation that led to the arrest of Jamil Hapson Faburada, 19, male, single, and Genesis Abat Iligan, 20, male, single, and both residents of Barangay Looc, Dumaguete City.
The suspects were arrested after allegedly selling suspected shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride to an undercover operative.
Recovered from the suspects were 10 pieces of heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets containing suspected shabu powder/granules, a disposable lighter, a mobile phone, and some cash.
Pineda said the two suspects are not in the police’s watch list of drug personalities and described them as “bagong salta” or newbies.
The value of the suspected shabu confiscated from the two suspects is still being determined.
Meanwhile, one of the priority targets in the illegal drugs trade in Dumaguete was arrested with more or less ten grams of suspected shabu and more than PHP45,000 in cash believed to be proceeds of illegal drugs sale.
The suspect was dentified as Jovanie Mahusay, 22, single, a pedicab driver who yielded three “bultos” (street slang for large volume) of suspected shabu and three small transparent plastic sachets believed to be shabu and other illegal drug paraphernalia during a search at his residence in Purok Mutia, Sitio Canday-ong, Calindagan, Dumaguete City.
Negros Oriental Police’s Provincial Intelligence Branch/Special Operations Group team leader, Sr. Insp. Armel Von Alegria, said Mahusay is considered a priority target due to inyelligence reports that he allegedly sells shabu for a minimum of PHP2,000 per sachet.
During the “test buy”, police had to spare PHP2,500 for one sachet.
He is also reported to be engaged in illegal cockfighting with bets ranging from PHP5,000 to PHP10,000 per cock.
In an interview, Mahusay claimed the money recovered from his room is part of the regular subsistence from their mother, Melanie, who is in Manila but several deposit slips of big amounts of money found inside the room showed otherwise.
With this conflicting information, the police is verifying whether there is truth to claims of Melanie’s husband that his wife is a customs broker in Manila, though neighbors said Melanie is in Hongkong. (Mary Judaline Partlow and Juancho Gallarde/PNA)
