5 arrested with a kilo of shabu

Agents of the National Anti-Drug Task Force (NADTF) arrested five suspected drug peddlers and seized about 1.1 kilos of shabu worth P2.2 million in separate raids in Manila and Pasig City Sunday.

First arrested during the operations in Manila were Edwin Dimaguila, 47, a cock breeder and a resident of Pasig City; Edith Lazaga, 31, of Muntinlupa City and Rhea Raposas, 23, of Makati City.

Police said the three suspects were nabbed after a buy-bust operation at SM Centerpoint parking area in Sta. Mesa, Manila shortly after they arranged the delivery of 700 grams of shabu to a police poseur buyer.

Later in the afternoon, another drug deal was thwarted by NADTF elements in Pasig City.

Suspects Renato Adriano, 62, a resident of Taguig, and his live-in partner Jocelyn Ignacio, 33, were apprehended after they delivered 400 grams of shabu to another agent.

The suspects are now detained at the NADTF headquarters while charges are being prepared against them.

Director Miguel Coronel, executive director of National Drug Law Enforcement and Prevention Coordinating Center and concurrent NADTF chief, lauded his men for the success of the operation.– Christina Mendez