Drug den owner arrested

CEBU, Philippines - A suspected drug den operator was arrested after yielding almost a hundred packs of suspected shabu during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Duljo-Fatima last Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier, Edwin Gutierrez, 36, bragged that police would not arrest him because he had polio and they would take pity on him.He was wrong.

PDEA-7 information officer Jessie Tabanao said Gutierrez’s younger sister, Shiela, who was also a subject of the operation, eluded arrest.

Tabanao said their team received a report of the drug activities of the siblings two weeks ago and placed them under surveillance.

Last Wednesday Shiela made the transaction with the operatives outside the gate of her house but later slammed the gate shut and locked it when she sensed she was dealing with law enforcers.

The operatives eventually got the gate open using a hammer.They went inside the house and found two rooms that served as a drug den.

“Inig dayon nimo sud, naa pa’y karatola sa bongbong nga nakasulat ‘suyopanan this way’,” Tabanao said.

Drug users were able to escape the house before police could arrest them but police found Edwin who could not run away because he had to use crutches to move around.

Shiela was also believed to have escaped through a secret exit at the back of the house, Tabanao said.He described Shiela as a Level 3 drug pusher who can sell up to 200 grams of the prohibited drugs every week.

The PDEA-7 recovered at least 84 packs of suspected shabu from Edwin’s pocket. They later recovered another big pack of the same substance from a box outside the den.

Tabanao said the seized drugs all amounted to P60,000.

He said it is Edwin who collects P20 from each person who visits their drug den to use shabu.The PDEA also recovered five cellular phones and six wristwatches which were believed to have been pawned by drug users who had no money to buy shabu from the suspects.

Drug paraphernalia were also recovered.

The PDEA-7 official disclosed that during their two-week surveillance on the suspects, they learned that Edwin bragged that because of his condition, authorities would not arrest him.

The suspect is now detained at the PDEA-7 detention cell while charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act will be filed against him.A similar charge will also be filed against Shiela.

Tabanao said this is their first operation in response to the directive they received two weeks ago from newly-installed PDEA Director General Jose Gutierrez which is to eliminate all monitored drug dens in the country. (FREEMAN)