DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental — Joint police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) operatives arrested an American national after a search in his rented apartment yielded suspected illegal drugs early Tuesday morning.
Joint elements of the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit-Special Operations Group (PDEU-SOG),(PDEA and the city police earlier searched the rented house of American national James Thomas Hobert, 47, who hails from Iowa, US, at Pinero Subdivision in Mangnao, Dumaguete City.
Recovered during the search were one plastic sachet believed to contain suspected shabu, four elongated heat-sealed plastic sachets, one plastic sachet with residues, improvised tooter, lighters, more than PHP 1,000 cash, tinfoil, a Samsung cellphone and empty plastic sachets.
The suspect, however, vehemently denied knowledge about the recovered illegal drugs and paraphernalia, saying that somebody may have access to the house and planted the pieces of evidence.
It turned out that his son’s key was missing, Hobert claimed in an interview.
He refused to name the person for fear of his life, adding that “somebody must be in the house and I can’t say who that person is, or else my life will be over,” Hobert said.
PDEA agent Phil Tangeres disclosed they applied for a search warrant after a surveillance operation confirmed reports of neighbors about the supposed activities of the foreigner.
PDEU-SOG team leader Insp. Allen June Germodo said Hobert was a subject of a failed buy-bust operation a few months ago.
He also said that the foreigner’s illegal activities had been reported to the regional office even as another foreigner is believed to be in cahoots with him in the illegal drug trade.
Germodo considered Hobert a high-value target. During the search, two other women were inside the rented apartment. (PNA)
