Shabu peddler arrested in Kidapawan City

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Policemen seized P800,000 worth of shabu from a suspect who was entrapped on Friday night in a remote area of Kidapawan City, Cotabato province.

Brig. Gen. James Gulmatico, director of the Police Regional Office-12, told reporters on Sunday that the 46-year-old Johnny Bustamante Villanueva, a resident of Digos City, the capital of Davao del Sur, is now detained, awaiting prosecution for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Villanueva was immediately arrested after turning over 115 grams of shabu, costing P800,000, to non-uniformed personnel of PRO-12's Police Regional Drug Enforcement Unit, led by its Cotabato provincial chief, Captain Ernie John Saratao, in a clandestine tradeoff in a secluded area in Kidapawan City shortly after dusk Friday.

Gulmatico said Villanueva is known in PRO-12’s intelligence community for his frequent travels to different areas in the provinces of Davao del Sur in Region 11 and Cotabato in Region 12 to deliver shabu to local contacts.

Gulmatico said the operation that led to his arrest and confiscation from him of P800,000 worth of shabu was laid by their anti-narcotics unit in Cotabato province and personnel of the Kidapawan City Police Office after confidential informants residing in Digos City had reported his drug peddling activities in areas covered by PRO-12.