By John Rey Saavedra | Philippine News Agency
CEBU CITY – Authorities arrested three drug personalities in two separate operations in Cebu province in the past 24 hours and seized from them a total of P13.4 million worth of illegal substance suspected to be shabu.
Maj. William Homoc, chief of the Minglanilla Police Station, said they arrested on Sunday night 39-year-old Eric Bacaresas Lapeña, a resident of Barangay Tisa, Cebu City, in a buy-bust conducted in Barangay Tungkil, Minglanilla town.
The police confiscated from Lapeña a total of 10 large and four medium plastic packs containing white granules believed to be shabu with a total weight of 1.8 kilos valued at P12.7 million.
“Actually, the arrest of Lapeña is an offshoot of previous operations two days ago. The information that we gathered in those previous arrest of drug suspects led to suspect Lapeña, Thus, we conducted this follow-up operation,” Homoc told reporters in Cebuano.
Described as a “distributor”, Lapeña sold a medium pack of the substance to a police personnel who posed as a buyer. But in the ensuing search into the suspect’s yellow backpack upon his arrest, the operatives recovered more packs of suspected shabu.
In Cebu City, operatives from the Regional Drug Enforcement Group (DEG) and Police Station 4 (Mabolo) arrested on Monday morning a live-in couple and seized from them several packs of suspected shabu worth P720,800 in a buy-bust operation along Juan Luna Extension in Mabolo village.
Lt. Col. Henrix Bancoleta, DEG chief, identified the suspects as Apolinario Regner Nuñez III (alias Junior), a resident of F. Calderon, Sitio Bato, Barangay Ermita here, and his common-law wife Arianne Verce Cabilida, both of legal age.
Police records showed that the couple yielded a medium pack, a large knot-tied sachet, 11 small sachets, and a pouch bag containing the white substances believed to be shabu.
Lapeña is now detained at the Minglanilla Police Station while Nuñez and Cabilida are detained at the Mabolo Police Station. They are facing charges for violating Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. (PNA) – bny
