P455.6 million shabu seized in Las Piñas apartment

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly 67 kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu were found at an empty apartment in Las Piñas City yesterday morning.

The apartment is supposedly owned by one of the alleged drug couriers arrested last week.

Lt. Gen. Camilo Cascolan, Philippine National Police deputy chief for operations, led a team comprised of personnel from the Southern Police District, PNP Drug Enforcement Group and the Las Piñas City police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in raiding the apartment on F. Manalo street in Golden Acres Subdivision, Talon 5.

Apartment owner Maria Clavo told Cascolan of the drugs supposedly brought in by a tenant.

Police confiscated the shabu with a street value of P455.6 million from the apartment and arrested Melanie Salem, said to be the live-in partner of Joel Bustamante.

He and brother Merwin Bustamante were arrested in a sting involving 17 kilos of shabu with a street value of P115.6 million at a parking lot on C-5 Extension in Barangay Manuyo, also in Las Piñas, on Nov. 27.

The two Bustamantes were supposedly the couriers of Liu Chao, a Chinese man who was arrested in Makati City on Nov. 26.

Liu was caught with about 317 kilograms of shabu, worth about P2.5 billion – one of the biggest hauls of the authorities this year.

In Pateros, police arrested Rolando dela Peña, 34; Pablo Labian, 40; Miguel Arellano, 36; Francisco San Pascual, 35; Mark Anthony Viray, 34, and Flora Barredo, 46, in a sting in Barangay Sta. Ana on Friday night.

Around 25 grams of shabu, contained in 40 sachets and with a street value of P170,000, and drug paraphernalia were seized from the suspects, who are on the town police’s drug watchlist.

In Makati, Jayvee de Guzman, 34; Jessa delos Reyes, 26, and Maricris Aranzanso, 34, were caught in a sting in De Guzman’s house on Quangco street in Barangay Pio del Pilar.

Police seized 3.7 grams of shabu in 110 sachets and with a street value of P55,000, and drug paraphernalia from the suspects.