Drug dealer arrested in cathedral buy-bust

MANILA, Philippines - The Baguio Cathedral did not prove to be a sanctuary for an alleged drug peddler, who purportedly sold illegal drugs there.

Twenty-seven-year-old Alvin Salazar was collared last Sunday by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for selling dangerous drugs to a poseur buyer right at the main entrance of the cathedral.

PDEA Director General Undersecretary Jose Gutierrez Jr. said Salazar was caught in the act of selling one ampule of propofol (20 ml), a vial of ketamine hydrochloride (10 ml), and 20 ampules of fentanyl citrate, containing 2 ml each.

Ketamine hydrochloride and fentanyl citrate are classified as dangerous drugs.

Ketamine hydrochloride, or “Special K,” is a powerful hallucinogen generally used as an anesthetic and animal tranquilizer by veterinarians.

Fentanyl citrate, on the other hand, is known to be a pain reliever and has similar analgesic property as that of morphine, but more potent, Gutierrez said.

Propofol, meanwhile, is the powerful sedative that supposedly caused the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson. It is usually administered to patients undergoing surgery or medical procedures and is not a controlled substance.