DUMAGUETE CITY — Authorities have seized more than PHP1 million worth of suspected shabu in an anti-drug operation in Barangay Cadawinonan here on Wednesday afternoon.
The suspect, identified as Roger Lapa Sol, 43, a resident of Ayungon, Negros Oriental, yielded some 100 grams of suspected shabu during the bust-bust operation in Barangay Cadawinonan, jointly conducted by the Philippine National Police-Regional Special Operations Group (PNP-RSOG) and the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) headed by Senior Insp. Vann Joel Tingson.
RSOG team leader, Chief Insp. Abel Laborte, said the suspect was arrested after transacting with a police poseur-buyer near the private cemetery in Cadawinonan.
Recovered from his possession were 20 “bultos” (street slang for huge volumes) of alleged shabu with an estimated value of PHP1.18 million and marked money.
Laborte said the suspect was under surveillance after his release from the medium-security of the national prison facility in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila in December last year due to reports he could be one of the couriers of drug shipment from the national penitentiary.
According to Laborte, the suspect was very cooperative as he revealed that the drug shipment is from Bohol with links in Muntinlupa.
Further investigation disclosed the suspect is originally from Looc, Dumaguete and had moved to Amlan town and later to Ayungon, where he ran an “ukay-ukay” (relief clothing) business together with a live-in partner.
Senior Insp. Tingson of CDEU disclosed thst the arrest of Sol is the “result of enhanced inter-operability of different law enforcement units in the campaign against illegal drugs.”
One of the strategies is the “pasa-bilis” scheme through Viber where anybody in the community can send information on time for immediate response.
According to Tingson, Sol is included on their watch list of alleged drug personalities but they needed an informant to transact with him.
RSOG provided one operative who went under cover, which resulted in the buy-bust operation and the subsequent arrest of the suspect. (Juancho Gallarde/PNA)
