A suspected drug pusher and his alleged customer were arrested the other night during a police buy-bust operation right inside the house of the suspect at barangay Sambag 2, only a few meters from the barangay hall, and from a university.
The suspect, Soliman “Eman” Pioquinto, has been reported as the supplier of illegal drugs to students in the area, while the alleged customer was identified as Mark Edsel Tiongson, also a resident of the barangay.
The team from the Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force Group-7 earlier received information about Pioquinto’s activities in the area and that most of his customers were reportedly students.
PO3 Richard Valencia of the RAIDSOTFG-7 told The Freeman that a letter-complaint sent to the police initially disclosed that Pioquinto usually sells two to three big packs, or bulto, every day to students residing in the neighborhood, which is a walking distance from a university.
“Tag duha hangtud tulo ka bulto ang mabaligya niya kay duol man gud sa mga boardinghouse. Usually mga estudyante ang iyang mga kustomer,” said Valencia.
Using the relayed information from an unnamed letter-sender, the task force immediately hatched up a buy-bust operation.
The strategy came out well as planned but shortly after the poseur buyer received the pack of shabu from Pioquinto, he sensed that the “buyer” was a policeman prompting him to flee from the scene as fast as he could.
The task force members immediately gave chase and, shortly after, Pioquinto was caught inside his house where Tiongson, an alleged customer of the suspect, was also found there. Tiongson was also arrested.
The task force team also seized 97 sachets of shabu from Pioquinto and some drug paraphernalia from his house in addition to the pack of shabu that was sold earlier by him to the police poseur-buyer.
Pioquinto will be charged for selling drugs, in violation of Section 5 of the Article II of Republic Act 9165, or the law against illegal drugs, while Tiongson will be charged for visiting a drug den in violation of Section 7 of the same law. —Edwin Ian Melecio/RAE