Two drug suspects arrested

CEBU, Philippines - Two suspected pushers were arrested in a buy-bust operation conducted by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) - 7 on Wednesday afternoon in Barangay Danglag, Consolacion.

The subject of the operation, Jomarie Arnoco, 33, did not resist arrest when he was handcuffed by the operatives together with his cohort, Rey Abao, 26, right after the transaction.

IO2 Jelou Anthony Paca of the PDEA-7 said Arnoco is in their list of personalities and was under surveillance for a week before the arrest was carried out at about 4:00 in the afternoon.

It was IO2 Eugene Prieto who acted as the poseur buyer.

Recovered from the suspects’ possessions were five small packets of shabu worth P2,500, an improvised tooter, a grenade, a cellular phone, the P500 buy-bust money, a blue Honda XRM motorcycle and a notebook containing his illegal drugs transactions.

Paca said Arnoco was subject for monitoring following reports of his illegal activities. He was also allegedly selling shabu near a school.

Arnoco was tagged as a level two pusher who could disposed of 200 grams of shabu worth P800,000. He denied selling shabu and claimed that the more than P1 million worth of collectibles stated on his notebook was not of shabu but of his pigs which he recently sold.

Paca told The FREEMAN that some of the recorded amounts were P480,000; P578,000, which was labeled ‘bossing’ and P240,000, which was labeled collectible for 50 grams taken.

However, the suspect’s family never mentioned of a piggery business when they showed up at the PDEA office.

“Kung naa gyud ni baboyan mo-question unta ang pamilya nganong gidakop nga naa may negosyo pero wala man,” Paca said in a phone interview. (If it’s true they have a piggery the family should have mentioned it.)

Operatives are also planning to submit the SIM card of Arnoco to a SIM forensic investigation to their national headquarters after they read “bantay diha padung na ang taga- PDEA diha” in the inbox of Arnoco’s mobile phone. (Be warned, PDEA agents are on their way there.)

The message was reportedly received a day before their arrest.

“We will recommend it to RD (regional director) to conduct an investigation on the message,” Paca said.

Paca said that shabu sold by the duo were delivered to Arnoco from Muntinlupa.

Arnoco will be facing charges for Sections 5 and 11 of RA 9165 and RA 8294 while Abao will be charged with Section 11 of RA 9265. The two are now temporarily detained at the PDEA-7 stockade. — (FREEMAN)