“Drug pusher” nabbed in buy-bust

CEBU, Philippines - A 20-year-old level three drug pusher was arrested after he reportedly sold a pack of shabu to a police officer in a buy-bust operation in sitio Dita, Barangay Pulangbato last Wednesday night.

Operatives of the City Intelligence Branch arrested suspect Paulo Llaguno, a resident of Barangay Binaliw, after he was seized with 21 packs of suspected shabu including the pack that he sold to the poseur-buyer.

Senior Insp. Keith Allen Andaya, deputy chief for administration of CIB, said the arrest stemmed from the information they received from a concerned citizen about Llaguno’s alleged illegal drug trade in the area.

Andaya said they arranged a “transaction” with Llaguno and pretended to buy from him P200 worth of the illegal drugs.

As soon as the suspect handed over the drugs to the police decoy and received the marked money, he was arrested. The suspect no longer resisted and reportedly yielded 20 other packs of the same powdery substance that amounted to about P10,000.

Andaya said they learned that Llaguno has been into the illegal drug trade just recently but the suspect could nevertheless already dispose a big pack of shabu worth P25,000 everyday, which made him a level three drug pusher.

He said Llaguno told them where he gets the drugs, but refused to disclose the supplier’s identity while they are verifying such information.

The CIB official said they will conduct more anti-drug operations in the area since illegal drug activities are rampant there.

Llaguno, in an interview, admitted to using and selling illegal drugs since he was 17 years old, although not all the time. He denied owning the 20 other packs of shabu seized from him.

The suspect further said that he was forced into selling drugs as a way to support his family and his two-year-old child. — (FREEMAN)